Mullins out 6 weeks with ankle injury

[Scottobot]

If Reed and Demary recover in time for season start, team will be fine. Mullins will be a 3P sniper when he returns and that should be easier to integrate in later than a player like McNeeley last year that the offense ran through.
When he comes back it will linger and bother him, but with it happening so early, he could certainly be at 100% by March, and that is when this team will need him if everyone else is healthy

 

[TouchdownHusky]

He is good

Then he should give UConn a reasonable facsimile of Mullins.

 

[Scottobot]

1. Can’t help but feel like this is Liam all over again. Brutal injury for a freshman as it puts him way behind the curve.

2. Calling for Ross to start over Stewart is insanity. Stewart is inconsistent but has shown real flashes and had actual contributions in meaningful games. Ross has not. I know Ross fans love long discourses on how he’s secretly Gary Payton on D etc but it’s a no-brainer Stewart should start now and needs to step up

Liam’s injury happened at start of January. This one is in October. There is a lot more time to heal before March. This year’s team is in a much better spot to weather the storm as well. I worry more about Reed’s injury than this one.

 

[bendm]

One of the reasons that Liam wasn't great in the NCAAs is that he lost a lot of developmental time due to injury. Freshman like Mullins need to play to get get better.

Castle missed 6 games. Mullins is looking at five weeks.

Which could also end up being 6 games

 

[Spaceman213J]

Only concern for me is that ankles are very easy to re-injure. Castle, Clingan, Ajax and others were beat up to start seasons and it work out fine. Just need the team to come together and be healthy in late Jan., Feb., and March.

 

[PAHusky]

Like the very last guy off the bench? I agree he probably won't get much run this season but he's definitely not one of the last guys off the bench of the 15 scholarship players.

Meant more like the last guy from the bench to see actual minutes sorry - 10th guy maybe? Too lazy to count out the lineup right now

 

[bendm]

Meant more like the last guy from the bench to see actual minutes sorry - 10th guy maybe? Too lazy to count out the lineup right now

I’d put him 12th behind Millender and Koroma

 

[HooperScooper]

I’d put him 12th behind Millender and Koroma

I might end up being wrong but I doubt Millender is going to play more than Furphy. Unless there are injuries to Demary and Smith and I don't want to think about that.

 

[Scottobot]

Then he should give UConn a reasonable facsimile of Mullins.

If he gets a chance he might be as good. When you come from the middle of no where in Australia everyone is going to doubt you. He is really going to have to be perfect in his opportunities to get PT. Lots of other guys on the team with experience have already proven they deserve PT. It is a hard road for him to get PT this season but I think he might do it.

 

[bendm]

I might end up being wrong but I doubt Millender is going to play more than Furphy. Unless there are injuries to Demary and Smith and I don't want to think about that.

I think smith Is going to start while Mullins is out so that could provide some PT for Millender right off the bat. Furphy doesn’t look ready to contribute early in the season

 

[superjohn]

I think smith Is going to start while Mullins is out so that could provide some PT for Millender right off the bat. Furphy doesn’t look ready to contribute early in the season

We haven't seen them play any games. What are you talking about?

 

[bendm]

We haven't seen them play any games. What are you talking about?

We’ve seen a scrimmage. I said the same thing in that post game thread. Several others shared a similar sentiment.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

If he gets a chance he might be as good. When you come from the middle of no where in Australia everyone is going to doubt you. He is really going to have to be perfect in his opportunities to get PT. Lots of other guys on the team with experience have already proven they deserve PT. It is a hard road for him to get PT this season but I think he might do it.

Not disagreeing with what you say but, if he can play, he can play. Otherwise why all the hype back in the spring and summer. Made him sound like Mullin's twin.

 

[HW611]

I think smith Is going to start while Mullins is out so that could provide some PT for Millender right off the bat. Furphy doesn’t look ready to contribute early in the season

Been saying for awhile I’d be shocked if Furphy contributed much this season. Don’t think depth is the reason he wasn’t going to play so Mullins going down doesn’t effect that much.

 

[DogMania]

A few random thoughts:

As pointed out, strange coincidence the string of highly touted UConn freshman being sidelined due to injury at the start of the season. With that said, the most important thing is for Braylon to heal and be ready to play when he's ready with a low probability of reinjuring his ankle.

It's unfortunate to lose him with such a tough non-conference schedule and some lower-level games coming up which would have been important developmental minutes for him, and possibly some NCAA seeding implications down the road.

As for who gets his minutes, none of us really know. My guess is they go to the players who are earning them in practice as well as how they play in each upcoming game. One factor will be match-ups and situational moments. Another might be who Hurley wants to give more time to further development them. IMO, Watching one exhibition game is not a good predictor for this.

This injury will have a PT domino effect, where even a player like Furphy might get more time. I might be wrong, but I don't think he'll struggle due to the moments being to big for him considering how much international experience he has with one of Australia's national teams. His PT will likely ride on how well he can learn the offensive and defensive schemes and ability to ride his BBIQ to make up for his level of athleticism.

One other big factor for how the PT might play out will probably be how well Jayden and Jaylin play since those two are clearly the two multi-positional wings Hurley would like to bring off the bench to spell Braylon and Alex (SF or PF positions) or maybe even Ball in the case with Ross as a big 2G.

As some have already pointed out, more PT for some bench players that speeds up their development could be one positive that comes out of this bad situation.

We'll learn a lot about how all this plays out over the next 5 to 6 weeks.

 

[Hunt for 7]

What I don’t get about all this Furphy is not good enough to play this year is….he played as well if not better against the same competition as another freshman we have in Reibe and yet one is ready to play and the other is not. I get it that one is 7’1” tall but that would suggest he may need more time. I think Mullins going down is an opportunity for Furphy to get some important minutes and contribute.

So I am going to expect that he see some time in the first few games against lesser competition to see if he can help fill the void Mullins injury has created in some of the tougher OOC early season games.

 

[HW611]

What I don’t get about all this Furphy is not good enough to play this year is….he played as well if not better against the same competition as another freshman we have in Reibe and yet one is ready to play and the other is not. I get it that on is 7’1” tall but that would suggest he may need more time. I think Mullins going down is an opportunity for Furphy to get some important minutes and contribute.

So I am going to expect that he see some time in the first few games against lesser competition to see if he can help fill the void Mullins injury has created in some of the tougher OOC early season games.

Centers roles are much simpler to get down than perimeter players.

Run the floor, rebound, defend the rim, get layups and you’ll be killing it.

Going from main playmaker with the ball in your hands constantly, to trying to figure out how to find spots while not having the ball much is a completely different adjustment to make.

The game is completely different when you’re playing 30 minutes a game making all the decisions to getting 5-10 mins while touching the ball a few times trying to make the most of it.

 

[Scottobot]

Not disagreeing with what you say but, if he can play, he can play. Otherwise why all the hype back in the spring and summer. Made him sound like Mullin's twin.

The difference is if Mullins or Stewart has a few bad games they will get a chance to play through it. If someone at the end of the bench like Furphy has a bad game, everyone will be like “I knew it he is not ready”. Even in that scrimmage against BC where he only played a few minutes a lot of comments on this board saying he is not ready yet.

 

[uconn_jack]

Has anyone here seen anything more than the BC scrimmage where they have any real insight on Furphy? Yes, I would have liked to see more of him, but I don't necessarily think that his lack of playing time means he's buried on the bench this year. He didn't "do" much in that game, but he didn't look like he wasn't ready. Mullins was obviously going to play, and I think
Hurley is still trying to make Ross happen. But if Ross doesn't make the jump, I can still see Furphy taking a lot of those minutes. And unless Demary or Smith are hurt, I think we still see more of Furphy than Millander.

 

[auror]

Not disagreeing with what you say but, if he can play, he can play. Otherwise why all the hype back in the spring and summer. Made him sound like Mullin's twin.

He looked good at FIBA. Got some hype. Not as good in UConn's scrimmages this summer and Ross clearly ahead of him in rotation in the exhibition game. Hype subsided a bit. He's a freshman, and we have a few seniors/5th years, 2 juniors, and a higher ranked freshman at a different position competing with him for spots in the rotation off the bench alone.

Him being 10th or so on the depth chart isn't a shocking thing, even considering the hype. He had to beat out a junior former top ~80 recruit as a non-5* freshman for his role, and it seems like it didn't happen. But if Ross struggles, he could be in the mix even after Braylon returns. As it is, I expect him to get more burn in the cupcakes now than he probably would have. Chance to prove himself.

 

[Slick]

Has anyone here seen anything more than the BC scrimmage where they have any real insight on Furphy? Yes, I would have liked to see more of him, but I don't necessarily think that his lack of playing time means he's buried on the bench this year. He didn't "do" much in that game, but he didn't look like he wasn't ready. Mullins was obviously going to play, and I think
Hurley is still trying to make Ross happen. But if Ross doesn't make the jump, I can still see Furphy taking a lot of those minutes. And unless Demary or Smith are hurt, I think we still see more of Furphy than Millander.

I think Furphy played against multiple 1st round NBA picks and he more than held his own. I think that tells you everything you need to know

 

[HitDog]

Here we go again... SMH

Definitely a good reason not to pay for Peacock

 

[uconn_jack]

I think Furphy played against multiple 1st round NBA picks and he more than held his own. I think that tells you everything you need to know

Watch him get 15-20 minutes, 10 pts and a few assists against MSU this week, people here will start penciling him in as a starter.....

 

[Lafayette]

As much as Stewart will start with Mullins out, when we switch to 3 guards it will be Demary, Smith, Solo mainly but could see Furphy come in for Solo or Smith or Demary depending on the game flow. Furphy will get some run.

 

[Marat]

As much as Stewart will start with Mullins out, when we switch to 3 guards it will be Demary, Smith, Solo mainly but could see Furphy come in for Solo or Smith or Demary depending on the game flow. Furphy will get some run.

Speaking of Demary, hoping to see him in action tomorrow vs MSU. Also don't want be down 3 starters.

Anyone know of his updated status ?

 

[HooperScooper]

Speaking of Demary, hoping to see him in action tomorrow vs MSU. Also don't want be down 3 starters.

Anyone know of his updated status ?

Demary has been back practicing with the team since shortly after the BC game so I have to imagine he's playing tomorrow unless there's been some kind of setback we haven't heard about.

 

[Tenspro2002]

McNeeley never fully got (re)integrated after his injury and you worry about the same here.

With Castle, the rest of the team was extremely well-established and he could work his way in. We're counting on more from Mullins. This could really stifle how this team comes together.

 

[boog204]

McNeeley never fully got (re)integrated after his injury and you worry about the same here.

With Castle, the rest of the team was extremely well-established and he could work his way in. We're counting on more from Mullins. This could really stifle how this team comes together.

I'm banking on Mullins not needing to carry the same load that McNeeley was (unfairly) asked to. Last year's team was so flawed that we needed McNeeley to be an offensive initiator because we lacked a healthy point guard and had nobody who was a remotely complete offensive player. On paper, we now have Demary and Smith who should be playmakers, an improved Solo, hopefully a step up from Jaylin and Ross, and a senior AK.

 

[MuchoDogYears]

I am not certain what that timeline was but if it was 5 weeks it was wrong as it clearly took much longer to heal. If it is worse than a high ankle sprain that would start to put a lot of different could be’s on the table.

Hamstrings and high ankle sprains have a clear track record that coming back to early could be really bad. Look at Mike Evans with his hamstring issues. There are just some injuries that you can’t rush back from. And 4 or 5 weeks may have been an aggressive timeline for Liam because we were already in season with this one happening pre season (if it is a high ankle sprain) I believe 6 weeks would be a more realistic timeline.

Then you have credible sources that say it could be less time because Mullins is a quick healer. Not going to discount that after seeing what Mahomes did when he had that gruesome knee dislocation and was playing in two weeks.

But I understand your reasoning.

The “ he’s a quick healer” is for the most part bogus, not just for Braylon but for anyone.
What it usually means is that someone has a higher pain tolerance than most, not that they heal quicker.

 

[Mooch82]

I think smith Is going to start while Mullins is out so that could provide some PT for Millender right off the bat. Furphy doesn’t look ready to contribute early in the season

I don't. We want Malachi to be that spark off the bench and there's no reason to change that. Start Stewart at the 3.