Middlesex Chamber Hurley Breakfast - Oct 7th

[HooperScooper]

Are we missing quotes from the breakfast? I feel like we usually got a lot more

Here you go. Borges article from the breakfast.

"There's a level of patience we've got to have with Tristen and Hassan," Hurley noted. "I would say collectively at that position, it's the most we've had. R.J. left some big shoes to fill, but I think the combination of the two right now is really, really competitive."

Who will be UConn men's basketball team's starting point guard this season? Dan Hurley still deciding

Three of the UConn men's basketball team's starting spots are shoo-ins, but coach Dan...

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Who will be UConn men's basketball team's starting point guard this season? Dan Hurley still deciding​

 

[superjohn]

I keep shaking my head about the concerns with Newton playing PG. He hasn't played a game yet. Relax. It reminds me of all the people who were concerned about Cole going from a lower level to UConn and all the concerns about his play the first year at UConn. He only was First Team All BE his 2nd year here. And all that despite some people saying, even to his last game, that he wasn't good enough to play here. I'm sure it won't be a seamless transition for Newton but the kid averaged 17/5/5 in a pretty high level (the AAC is not a low major) so he has talent. He'll get there if he's not on day one.

Cole had one full season practicing with the team and one full season playing a Big East schedule before he turned into the first team All-Big East point guard we saw last season.

The consternation is coming from things Hurley has said to the media, has said to people who cover the team, and from people who observed practices.

I think it's a combination of people wishing they heard more positive things about Newton playing the point guard in the extremely early going, not believing Jackson can run the point/manage the game until we see it, and not believing Diarra is a starter at this level.

I'm not overly concerned but I think there will be growing pains at the position and we're going to miss RJ. I don't think everyone appreciates how good and important RJ was for us. He was one of the most important players in the entire country for his team last season.

 

[8893]

He’s seen Jackson even more than us, and would know how ridiculous the claims are if he’s still playing like sophomore Jackson.

But he was basically saying the same things about Jackson last season.

 

[navery12]

Or there is a pretty large sample size of one of them being a pretty poor offensive player at the college level. I liked taking him as a transfer and thought he would be good in a small role off the bench, but if he is really in contention with Newton for a starting spot I don't see how that can be a good thing.

I know being negative about all things UConn is your thing but there's also a large sample of Newton being a really good offensive player at the college level. So while you assume Newton has regressed to the level of Diarra, it's just as possible Diarra progressed to the level of Newton. That's how it can be a good thing

 

[HooperScooper]

I'm not overly concerned but I think there will be growing pains at the position and we're going to miss RJ. I don't think everyone appreciates how good and important RJ was for us. He was one of the most important players in the entire country for his team last season.

I agree. Hurley just said it today that there will be growing pains. I expect that with anyone playing their first year at UConn.

"There's a level of patience we've got to have with Tristen and Hassan," Hurley noted. "I would say collectively at that position, it's the most we've had. R.J. left some big shoes to fill, but I think the combination of the two right now is really, really competitive."

 

[Storrs South]

The expectations are high at this level. Being a PG in the Big East is a big step up whether it's coming from ECU or UTEP, regardless of prior success.

I think Newton will be good, fill PG duties but it's going to be a committee. I see 3 legitimately viable guys who can:

1. Handle the ball well
2. Break down a defender

that is better than the only 1 guy that could do it last year.

The staff prioritized ball skills and shooting this offseason and while it may take a couple games do think this is a well constructed roster.

 

[ucp990411]

Something you can do without a true point guard is run, run and then run some more. It’s when you get bogged down in hall court sets you need a true point guard. I think in a 4 out offense you can get by without a true point guard as well. Constant motion.

 

[ucp990411]

Anything on Samson Johnson?

 

[Hungryhusky99]

I know being negative about all things UConn is your thing but there's also a large sample of Newton being a really good offensive player at the college level. So while you assume Newton has regressed to the level of Diarra, it's just as possible Diarra progressed to the level of Newton. That's how it can be a good thing

If that is true, awesome, but it much more likely that Newton regresses some than Diarra becoming a good offensive player in a bigger role.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

All this talk about point guards is kinda mind numbing... it seems like half of the posters here want a traditional PG thinking that we're going to play old school 1-5 station basketball. But that isn't how this roster is set up nor is it the brand of ball that will cut down the nets in this era.

If we play 4-out style basketball a lot of/most of the time, then we won't need a traditional point guard for large chunks of time. We'll set the floor, get motion going, find mismatches (we should have them often due to most of our guard/wings being in the 6'5"+ range: Newton/Hawkins/Jackson/Karaban/Johnson), and then either shoot over those mismatches from distance, find a cutter to the basket for layups and dunks, or isolate Adama for his excellent pivot moves and crash the boards for put-backs.

 

[Umami Zen]

RJ Cole had an excellent year as a BE First Team PG last season.. When he needed a few minutes rest/was in foul trouble/ minor injuries--Our lack of team depth in ball handling was exposed. If the opposing team tried to take the ball out of his hands through defensive pressure-- Thereby forcing us to rely on others for ball handling-- we were exposed. AJax was frequently an opportunistic ball handler after collecting a defensive rebound and heading up court (with his coach's encouragement). RJ was exhausted at the end of games last year because of how he was used ..Did he complain? No.. Kid was a warrior.

This year we will have multiple ball handlers who will be on the floor and we will be less reliant on one player to navigate the offense and will have more balance. The four new guard additions to our roster have previous CBB experience. IMO.. We have much more flexibility in our guard/wing rotation than in previous years. The cupboard is not bare.

 

[superjohn]

RJ Cole had an excellent year as a BE First Team PG last season.. When he needed a few minutes rest/was in foul trouble/ minor injuries--Our lack of team depth in ball handling was exposed. If the opposing team tried to take the ball out of his hands through defensive pressure-- Thereby forcing us to rely on others for ball handling-- we were exposed. AJax was frequently an opportunistic ball handler after collecting a defensive rebound and heading up court (with his coach's encouragement). RJ was exhausted at the end of games last year because of how he was used ..Did he complain? No.. Kid was a warrior.

This year we will have multiple ball handlers who will be on the floor and we will be less reliant on one player to navigate the offense and will have more balance. The four new guard additions to our roster have previous CBB experience. IMO.. We have much more flexibility in our guard/wing rotation than in previous years. The cupboard is not bare.

Nobody thinks the cupboard is bare and 3 ball handlers is way better than one but we're going from that one ballhandler being 1st team BE to not even knowing who the point guard is going to be this year.

We will learn a lot more after they get first night out of the way and the serious practices start but we won't really know what the situation is until they play some games.

 

[Kenny11]

I am not really worried about the pg situation. I think Newton will be good.

I guess the two worries I have are 1. that our defense may not be as good as last season. and 2. the "good problem" of having a lot of guys expecting minutes in a short rotation. The solution to number 2 is to blow more teams out.

 

[Chief00]

Discussion without game evidence is exhausting.

Adama’s shooting 3’s-
great, love to see a player adding to his game!
that is so stupid, he’s going to live out on the three point line, just what the other team wants!

Competition for a starting spot-
must mean every option sucks!
cool, toughen up and fight it out!

Only one month to go…

Agree, have Adama own the paint.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

I am not really worried about the pg situation. I think Newton will be good.

I guess the two worries I have are 1. that our defense may not be as good as last season. and 2. the "good problem" of having a lot of guys expecting minutes in a short rotation. The solution to number 2 is to blow more teams out.

Totally agree on your first point - we don't have a lock down defender over 6'6".

 

[HooperScooper]

Hurley continues to rave about highly-touted freshman Donovan Clingan. Clingan, the ex-Bristol Central great, is in great shape, dropping about 40 pounds since his high school days.

Clingan is more than just a 7-foot-2 low post giant.

“He doesn’t play because he’s taller than everybody else, he plays because he’s found a love for the game and passion,” Hurley said. “He wants to build his life around basketball so he shows up with energy and a life every day. This guy is alive. … He’s going to have a big impact on the season for us.”

Hurley gives his annual state of the Huskies talk at chamber breakfast

Rocky Hill — Breakfast and UConn basketball talk are two unbeatable combinations, especially when Dan Hurley is the featured speaker and the regular season starts in a month. Hurley, who’s entering hi...

www.theday.com

Alternate free link:

Hurley gives his annual state of the Huskies talk at chamber breakfast​

 

[pj]

Hold on with the point guard angst. If our backup point guard is getting starter's minutes, that means he's good enough to take minutes away from Jordan Hawkins, Andre Jackson, and Nahiem Alleyne. That seems like a pretty good player.

 

[mauconnfan]

I’m thinking it’s coaches way of making sure Newton knows he hasn’t been handed the spot. Not worried about PG unless we go in to the season with AJ being the actual point. Then I will be nervous!

 

[OkaForPrez]

I keep shaking my head about the concerns with Newton playing PG. He hasn't played a game yet. Relax. It reminds me of all the people who were concerned about Cole going from a lower level to UConn and all the concerns about his play the first year at UConn. He only was First Team All BE his 2nd year here. And all that despite some people saying, even to his last game, that he wasn't good enough to play here. I'm sure it won't be a seamless transition for Newton but the kid averaged 17/5/5 in a pretty high level (the AAC is not a low major) so he has talent. He'll get there if he's not on day one.

Newton is already in the taliek brown honorary dog house. Gibbs never got out of it.

 

[NJHoops]

Hurley continues to rave about highly-touted freshman Donovan Clingan. Clingan, the ex-Bristol Central great, is in great shape, dropping about 40 pounds since his high school days.

Clingan is more than just a 7-foot-2 low post giant.

“He doesn’t play because he’s taller than everybody else, he plays because he’s found a love for the game and passion,” Hurley said. “He wants to build his life around basketball so he shows up with energy and a life every day. This guy is alive. … He’s going to have a big impact on the season for us.”

Hurley gives his annual state of the Huskies talk at chamber breakfast

Rocky Hill — Breakfast and UConn basketball talk are two unbeatable combinations, especially when Dan Hurley is the featured speaker and the regular season starts in a month. Hurley, who’s entering hi...

www.theday.com

Alternate free link:

Hurley gives his annual state of the Huskies talk at chamber breakfast​

This will only make sense to anyone who followed URI basketball when Hurley was there (so, just me probably), but Clingan is the anti-Jordan Hare.

 

[Palatine]

Love to see Jackson develop into our Jason Kidd. He has the ability to make everyone on the floor better.

This is the greatest compliment by Hurley (talking about Clingan). "This guy is alive." Hope it applies to our other players as well.

 

[huskymedic]

Alternate access link here <<

-> Hurley noted that 7-2 freshman center Donovan Clingan has lost nearly 40 pounds since last season at Bristol Central and will combine with Sanogo as one of the best center combinations in the country.

Redshirt freshman Alex Karaban will have a "huge impact" this season, Hurley noted, and sophomore Samson Johnson "may be the most talented athlete I've coached, next to Andre ... it's a matter of putting it all together, the nuances of basketball." …

… Apostolos Roumoglou, a freshman from Greece, could eventually earn a role as a third guard or small forward if he keeps working hard, while Israeli freshman Yarin Hasson, who's just 17, needs to keep getting bigger and stronger.<-

 

[87Xfer]

Anything on Samson Johnson?

wall potential

 

[QDOG5]

The Middlesex Chamber breakfast wine mixer is my favorite thread of the year. Yarders get seriously pissed off at each other and everyone is reading tea leaves and parsing Hurley's quotes. It's awesome. Btw, if you look at the video I think DH is blinking morse code and it says "we're in trouble at point guard".

 

[CL82]

Yes and I don't really see the use in comparing Newton and Diarra to three of the best point guards/players we've ever had.

It’s like you don’t know us at all anymore.