Naheim Alleyne - VT transfer

[NotADime89]

We were top 25 last year. We are supposed to improve, not stagnate.

Who care's what preseason rank we have. Go back and look at who was in the top 25 to start last season. Its clear DH is building a better team than last year and I'm very confident in his abilities. We will be locking down Alleyne today and will hopefully be adding one more piece.

 

[SubbaBub]

details details. we'd have a 10 man rotation with 8 guys getting significant PT so no one else is seeing the floor, especially a G. but man this would be the team to beat in the BE.

Newton 30- Castle 10
Hawkins 10- Alleyne 20- Castle 10
Jackson 25- Hawkins 15
Samson 15- Karaban 15- Jackson 5- Springs 5
Sanogo 30- Samson 5- Clingan 5

30- Newton, Jackson, Sanogo
25- Hawk
20- Castle, Alleyne, Samson
15- Karaban
5- Springs, Clingan

I think I'd be good with this backcourt. We'll have enough ball handling. I doubt Castle is getting 20mpg as an underage frosh, but 10-15 seems about right unless he is physically and defensively ready for more. I don't see Springs on the floor consistently but who knows.

The rest looks about right, not having seen most of these guys.

 

[YearoftheHusky]

If we had a guy that hit 50% from 3 on 2 attempts a game, we'd want him to start and get more shots, too. Think if Polley had been starting over Giffey.

We had Akok. No one was clamoring for him to start.

 

[Banta55]

Nahiem (that’s the spelling) would be a solid addition, Competed against some great talent and has post-season experience. I think from reading a lot of the stuff here, people should know to take what fans say with a giant grain of salt. Nahiem and two more pieces that fit will be a nice start to summer workouts, then finish it out by September.

Nice to have you back

 

[mauconnfan]

We were top 25 last year. We are supposed to improve, not stagnate.

You must be stagnating if you don’t think Alleyne is an improvement on Gaffney, Diggins and a kid who redshirted. You’re kidding right?

 

[Tenspro2002]

Castle(fingers crossed)

Yes, that would be ideal.

 

[Tenspro2002]

details details. we'd have a 10 man rotation with 8 guys getting significant PT so no one else is seeing the floor, especially a G. but man this would be the team to beat in the BE.

Newton 30- Castle 10
Hawkins 10- Alleyne 20- Castle 10
Jackson 25- Hawkins 15
Samson 15- Karaban 15- Jackson 5- Springs 5
Sanogo 30- Samson 5- Clingan 5

30- Newton, Jackson, Sanogo
25- Hawk
20- Castle, Alleyne, Samson
15- Karaban
5- Springs, Clingan

I wouldn't like Johnson playing alongside Sanogo or Clingan that much, but otherwise in the ballpark.

 

[Tenspro2002]

He’s currently class of 2023 and seems content with staying on that path. If we convince a guy of his caliber to reclass only to have him play 10 minutes a game then that’s a bad look IMO.

If Castle is planning on being 1-and-done in the 2024 draft (the current plan if he comes in 2023), then the tradeoff for next year isn't playing 15-20 mpg as a backup versus playing 30-35 mpg as a starter in college, it's playing backup minutes here versus playing in high school.

The important question is: which one sets him up better for the 2024 draft?

I would argue getting backup minutes in college sets him up better to have a dominant 2023-24 season and leave as a high draft pick on the Bouknight trajectory.

 

[shizzle787]

You must be stagnating if you don’t think Alleyne is an improvement on Gaffney, Diggins and a kid who redshirted. You’re kidding right?

You forgot we lost Cole and Martin? Newton is Cole’s replacement. We have 8 players on the roster including 4 who didn’t really play college ball last year. We need another stud guard.

 

[superjohn]

I think we’d still need one more player. We can’t always be one sprained ankle away from catastrophe. Newton goes down and all we’ve got is a 17 year old pg.

18 year old.

 

[HuskyHawk]

You must be stagnating if you don’t think Alleyne is an improvement on Gaffney, Diggins and a kid who redshirted. You’re kidding right?

As an impact player certainly. I definitely think Floyd can be better than him at a similar experience level. I'd take Floyd back in a heartbeat.

 

[shizzle787]

Who care's what preseason rank we have. Go back and look at who was in the top 25 to start last season. Its clear DH is building a better team than last year and I'm very confident in his abilities. We will be locking down Alleyne today and will hopefully be adding one more piece.

I’m not talking preseason. I’m talking about the season itself. We were one of the top 25 teams in basketball last year. If we just match that this year, it would be a disappointment.

 

[businesslawyer]

We were top 25 last year. We are supposed to improve, not stagnate.

What a stupid post. Yes, teams are supposed to get better every single year in a straight line, even in years when they lose 4 of their top 6 players to graduation.

Hurley has not established himself as a great coach at the highest levels at this point in his career. But the need of some of you to trash him for the sun coming up and inflation is mindnumbingly psychotic.

 

[aburks41]

You forgot we lost Cole and Martin? Newton is Cole’s replacement. We have 8 players on the roster including 4 who didn’t really play college ball last year. We need another stud guard.

You don't need a 1:1 replacement for each person. That's not how this works

 

[shizzle787]

You don't need a 1:1 replacement for each person. That's not how this works

No but people are trying to play down expectations by comparing Alleyne to Diggins. The comparison should be to rotation players from last year, not people transferring out.

 

[aburks41]

No but people are trying to play down expectations by comparing Alleyne to Diggins. The comparison should be to rotation players from last year, not people transferring out.

It's stupid to compare anyone on this year's roster to last years because the roster construction last season was terrible. That's why a 1:1 comparison is dumb.

Here's how I look at it. Last year we had 1 guy who could reliably beat his man to create his own offense, and that guy was barely 6' tall. We started 3 players who couldn't score from more than 5 feet away from the hoop. This season, if everyone develops how we expect them to we will be starting, at a minimum, 3 guys who can create their own offense off the bounce. That is already a huge improvement. This seasons roster will be constructed how a modern day roster should look.

 

[Waquoit]

We were top 25 last year. We are supposed to improve, not stagnate.

I don't think we're stagnating. Our talent level on the floor will be higher this season than last. I'm not worry about replacing any of the forwards we lost.

 

[fatlucy]

I don't think we're stagnating. Our talent level on the floor will be higher this season than last. I'm not worry about replacing any of the forwards we lost.

I agree. Hurley pushed our contributing players to their max ceiling. They weren’t going to improve and they were in the best position to make money as pros that they could be. Time to move on and upgrade the talent.

 

[shizzle787]

I don't think we're stagnating. Our talent level on the floor will be higher this season than last. I'm not worry about replacing any of the forwards we lost.

I disagree.

We assume but do not know if Sanogo, Jackson, and Hawkins will take steps forward. But they are on both teams so they are a net equal.

We lost Cole and Martin. We replaced them with Newton and Karaban. I think Karaban will be a stud based on Peach Jam and high school but there is no guarantee. At the moment, we have downgraded UNLESS we bring in another STUD guard. That should be our first priority ahead of Alleyne and Castle reclass.

 

[superjohn]

What a stupid post. Yes, teams are supposed to get better every single year in a straight line, even in years when they lose 4 of their top 6 players to graduation.

Hurley has not established himself as a great coach at the highest levels at this point in his career. But the need of some of you to trash him for the sun coming up and inflation is mindnumbingly psychotic.

I would agree with you if Hurley already had a feather in his cap here but going winless in the tournament in his first 5 seasons would kind of be a disaster.

Losing 4 of the top 6 players to graduation can't be an excuse when those 4 players never won a single tournament game.

 

[husky429]

This is exactly what I picked up from watching film this morning.

The most noticeable difference is he can pass with purpose. His assist numbers don't jump off the page so he isn't a primary facilitator but he can make a pass within the flow of offense as opposed to just kicking it back out if the open 3 isn't there. I'll also add he appears to be far more aggressive in looking for his shot.

From the game log it looks like he was phased into a smaller role by February as he was asked to take less 3s per game but was consistent 37% from 3 all season. Could just need a fresh start to get back to sophomore year numbers.

I am concerned that VT seems to run a similarly sized lineup as what UConn will show this season and these were the results and that VT fans don't seem upset by the loss in favor of Maddox and they've actually watched the games not just the highlights. But not everyone on the team can be 1st Team All BE and staff has done well with bringing in and developing transfers so they've earned benefit of the doubt.

consistent shooting is as important as shooting. Polley going 5/8 from deep one game, and 1/6 the next two was tough on the team. When you can't predict someone's performance, it makes it much harder to game plan.

 

[UofCT]

We were top 25 last year. We are supposed to improve, not stagnate.

UNC was not top 25 but they made the final four. Would you sign up for that?

 

[Umami Zen]

I wouldn't like Johnson playing alongside Sanogo or Clingan that much, but otherwise in the ballpark.

FWIW-Johnson and Sanogo played in tandem/4-5 in HS.. They certainly know each other's game and I'm sure AS had something to do with Johnson choosing UConn. Having said that.. Rosters change/coaches are different/competition changes at the CBB level. Does it translate at UConn? Don't know..

But I wouldn't discount the fact that whenever they're on the floor together that they will have productive minutes . DH certainly seems to think its possible since he continues to suggest so in the press.

IMO--Karaban will be pushing for minutes at the 3 and 4 as well

 

[mauconnfan]

No but people are trying to play down expectations by comparing Alleyne to Diggins. The comparison should be to rotation players from last year, not people transferring out.

Gaffney WAS a rotation player and because his numbers dwindled due to his inability we weren't as good as we should have been. This guy definitely isn't 1:1 in that trade off and we're better already with Newton and him, as well as an improved Hawkins. Do we still need more, yes we do whether it is Rudi or Stephen but things are headed in a positive place if this one gets closed.

 

[Peacefrog]

No but people are trying to play down expectations by comparing Alleyne to Diggins. The comparison should be to rotation players from last year, not people transferring out.

Here's how it could play out compared to last year's squad:

Sanogo: incremental improvement versus last year (+)
Jackson: at least incremental improvement to last year (+)
Newton: wash versus Cole. (0)
Hawkins: moderate to significant improvement over last year. Will he be as good as Martin? A wash to possibly a slight negative (0/-)
Johnson/Alleyne: Alleyne would bring a lot more offense than Whaley. Johnson has a higher ceiling than Whaley but how much will he have improved? Neither is likely to provide the defense that Whaley did. This slot could be a positive, a negative or a wash. Hard to say, very different players.

Bench: Clingan, Karaban, Castle, Johnson/Alleyne, additional experienced portal guard looks clearly better than Polley/Gaffney.

On paper the team would be improved compared to last year. Not top 10 but better.