Name this year's starters | Page 4 | The Boneyard

Name this year's starters

Who will start for UConn this year?

  • Jalen Gaffney

  • RJ Cole

  • James Bouknight

  • Tyrese Martin

  • Isaiah Whaley

  • Brendan Adams

  • Akok Akok

  • Tyler Polley

  • Richie Springs

  • Adama Sanogo

  • Josh Carlton

  • Javonte Brown

  • Andre Jackson

  • Matt Garry

  • Andrew Hurley


Results are only viewable after voting.
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Don't understand the consensus that Cole will start over Gaffney. Cole is undersized and his stats at Howard will not translate in a high major conference (think Tarin Smith). Last year showed that Hurley really likes Gaffney's game (more than I do, anyhow) and after a year of conditioning I don't see any way he doesn't start.

For me there are 4 spots that are locked, Gaffney, Bouk, Polley and Whaley (who will play at the 5). By the end of the year I'm guessing that Jackson, who will be the hub of the team next year after Bouk leaves, will definitely be a starter, but Hurley could start Cole, Adams or Martin early in the year.

At any event this is the best talent that we have seen since we last made the tourney.
 

Psolo12

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Don't understand the consensus that Cole will start over Gaffney. Cole is undersized and his stats at Howard will not translate in a high major conference (think Tarin Smith). Last year showed that Hurley really likes Gaffney's game (more than I do, anyhow) and after a year of conditioning I don't see any way he doesn't start.

For me there are 4 spots that are locked, Gaffney, Bouk, Polley and Whaley (who will play at the 5). By the end of the year I'm guessing that Jackson, who will be the hub of the team next year after Bouk leaves, will definitely be a starter, but Hurley could start Cole, Adams or Martin early in the year.

At any event this is the best talent that we have seen since we last made the tourney.
Okay comparing Tarin Smith to Cole is disrespectful we're talking about a conference POY who averaged over 20 and put up 28 on Villanova. Gaffney is very good and it's gonna be a hell of a battle but Cole is a very good player.
 

ColchVEGAS

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Don't understand the consensus that Cole will start over Gaffney. Cole is undersized and his stats at Howard will not translate in a high major conference (think Tarin Smith). Last year showed that Hurley really likes Gaffney's game (more than I do, anyhow) and after a year of conditioning I don't see any way he doesn't start.

For me there are 4 spots that are locked, Gaffney, Bouk, Polley and Whaley (who will play at the 5). By the end of the year I'm guessing that Jackson, who will be the hub of the team next year after Bouk leaves, will definitely be a starter, but Hurley could start Cole, Adams or Martin early in the year.

At any event this is the best talent that we have seen since we last made the tourney.

I get what you are saying, but Cole and Tarin Smith are not good comparisons. Cole is much better offensively, and while the MEAC is an extremely weak conference I do not see how we can doubt 20 points per game and 40% from the field as not translating in some form to higher levels of competition. I do not expect 20+ points from him, but 12ish and 5 assists will be more than enough with how many weapons we potentially have.

I like Gaffney as a floor general, but Cole has more experience and by all accounts is more polished right now that Gaffney. I still see Cole as the PG to start the year and would not be surprised to see Gaffney, Cole, and Bouk on the floor together at some point.
 

Huskyforlife

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Okay comparing Tarin Smith to Cole is disrespectful we're talking about a conference POY who averaged over 20 and put up 28 on Villanova. Gaffney is very good and it's gonna be a hell of a battle but Cole is a very good player.
I get what you are saying, but Cole and Tarin Smith are not good comparisons. Cole is much better offensively, and while the MEAC is an extremely weak conference I do not see how we can doubt 20 points per game and 40% from the field as not translating in some form to higher levels of competition. I do not expect 20+ points from him, but 12ish and 5 assists will be more than enough with how many weapons we potentially have.

I like Gaffney as a floor general, but Cole has more experience and by all accounts is more polished right now that Gaffney. I still see Cole as the PG to start the year and would not be surprised to see Gaffney, Cole, and Bouk on the floor together at some point.
Didn't Smith play in the A10? Much better conference.
 
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Going off Hurleys comments recently and his evaluation of the roster, here’s my guess for the season opener:

Cole
Bouknight
Martin
Polley
Whaley

Hurley said Polleys best position is stretch 4 and Whaley played his best minutes as a small ball 5. Hurley said Whaley and Bouk are starters and I just don’t see why they would need to put Josh/Whaley starting together with the depth they now have. I’m sure the starting line up will change around a bit throughout the season. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Gaffney, AJ, and Sanogo starting at some point but that’s my guess for opening night. Cheers to the first practice :)
 
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He was like a 6th man in the A10. Cole was the best player in the MEAC by a good margin.
For the record, if my memory serves me , Tarin Smith was voted best 6th man in his conference the year before he came here.
 

Psolo12

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For the record, if my memory serves me , Tarin Smith was voted best 6th man in his conference the year before he came here.
a 6th man none the less, Cole was POY.
 
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Yup, I hear ya. I was just adding some info to the commentary. I thought Tarin Smith was a decent player, filled a role here that needed filling which was a backup ballhandler, occasional scorer, extra guard/defender. Other than that, I'm not trying to insert myself into your conversation any further.
 
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Carlton is starting. Don’t know how long he’s in for but he’s starting.
 
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Bouk and Whaley only two identified as guaranteed starters by Hurley.

Who the other 3 starters are will depend on whether Carlton or Sanago show they should be starting at center.

If neither one plays up to that then Whaley will be starting center instead of being the starting PF. That will have a domino effect on who fills the 4, 3 and 2 spots.

Ideally we want Bouk to play 2 guard and Whaley to play the 4, their natural positions.
 
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Who the other 3 starters are will depend on whether Carlton or Sanago show they should be starting at center.
Sanogo will be playing the PF not the C... that’s why he slimmed down.
 
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Sanogo will be playing the PF not the C... that’s why he slimmed down.

Isn’t Whaley slimmer than Sanago though? And shorter? I don’t know, maybe you’re right but someone has to play center, everyone can’t play PF.

So at PF we have Whaley, Sanago, Polley, Akok, Springs. And sometimes Martin. At center we have Carlton and JFB.

Just my take but I want Sanago at center. Need him giving us minutes and he’s not getting many at PF.
 
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Isn’t Whaley slimmer than Sanago though? And shorter? I don’t know, maybe you’re right but someone has to play center, everyone can’t play PF.

So at PF we have Whaley, Sanago, Polley, Akok, Springs. And sometimes Martin. At center we have Carlton and JFB.

Just my take but I want Sanago at center. Need him giving us minutes and he’s not getting many at PF.
You’re right we have a lot of 6’9” players. I guess Sanogo would play some center, but I like Whaley and Akok at the 5, with Carlton and Javonte Brown Ferguson. Akok was kind of useless at the 4 when they dragged him away from the basket and he couldn’t be a rim protector. I think his added weight will help. He played some 5 last year and I was a huge advocate in the live game chat for Akok at the 5.
 

Chin Diesel

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You’re right we have a lot of 6’9” players. I guess Sanogo would play some center, but I like Whaley and Akok at the 5, with Carlton and Javonte Brown Ferguson. Akok was kind of useless at the 4 when they dragged him away from the basket and he couldn’t be a rim protector. I think his added weight will help. He played some 5 last year and I was a huge advocate in the live game chat for Akok at the 5.

Polley
Carlton
Whaley
Akok
Springs
Sanogo

All in that 6'8"-6'10" height range with a variety of weights and skills. Basically half the roster. Good for practice and good for game/playing time management.
 

Chin Diesel

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Was screwing around with some numbers after reading some updated injury reports and Hurley comments this week. Looks like we have about 9 healthy players. Adams is still nursing some injuries and Akok is looking to have to wait until late November or December before he is doing live 5 on 5. Springs and Brown look like they still are expected to grow and improve before they see significant PT.

I was trying to figure out minutes and points per game based on comments from the staff about style of play and which players have impressed them so far. One thing I came away with is I think this team can score. The below numbers add up to 80 ppg which is plenty good. Also, the minutes. I realize different posters have different favs and how they see minutes. I give you the below numbers as baseline numbers. There's only 200 mpg. Not everyone can play 25-30 mpg. And all 200 minutes cannot come from the backcourt. So, for me, the 80 minutes for the 4 and 5 spot are taken up by Polley, Whaley, Sanogo and Carlton. Yes, I realize Martin will play some minutes at the 4, but Polley may play some at the 3, so it's a wash.

Once Adams and Akok become healthy, and if either Springs or Brown earn PT, their minutes have to come out of the hide of someone else shown below. Playing time minutes are a zero sum game.

I think Sanogo is really talented and expect him to probably get as many rebounds as he does points. As a freshman post player, there is a tendency to get in to foul trouble as 20-21 year old upper classmen post players are just quicker and more explosive than kids coming right out of high school. I expect Sanogo to have a few games of 8 minutes and 4 fouls. I hope Josh's dropped weight helps him out and makes him more effective, but Hurley has basically said Whaley is starting somewhere in the post.
Whaley showed some offensive skills on his own to score in the paint but was also effective on alley oops and offensive rebound put backs. I expect Whaley to have the most consistent minutes, points, rebounds and the rest of the box score amongst all the post players.

I think between Cole and Gaff they will each have games where one is more of the scorer and one is more of the distributor. I think overall at the end of the season they will have similar points, minutes and rebounds but individually each game those numbers will vary wildly.

I know Jackson had some knee injuries but DH has said Jackson has a chance to be one of the best freshmen guards in the country. I realize every freshmen guard has that possibility right now since no games have been player, but it is obvious DH plans on giving Jackson every opportunity to be on the floor and make things happen.

Polley is going to get minutes somehow. Defensive rebounding numbers aside, he is a reliable shooter and can be disruptive defensively with his length. He will play and score to some extent. Same thing with Martin. He's already being slotted as a "glue" guy who will do dirty work and earn some minutes. Not much of a shooter, but can fill the lane on the break, get a put back off an offensive board and get a bucket here or there. Add in some rebounding and defense and he gets a few minutes here or there.

Bouk is the guaranteed minutes played and scoring leader of this team. He go really good with his scoring efficiency and I expect that to only get better. Against some lower level teams he will easily get some 25 points in 22 minutes of playing.

NameMPGPPG
Cole269.8
Gaffney288.5
Bouk3117.9
Polley249.5
Whaley2910.2
Jackson198.4
Martin165.8
Sanogo155.6
Carlton124.8
Totals20080.5
 
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Was screwing around with some numbers after reading some updated injury reports and Hurley comments this week. Looks like we have about 9 healthy players. Adams is still nursing some injuries and Akok is looking to have to wait until late November or December before he is doing live 5 on 5. Springs and Brown look like they still are expected to grow and improve before they see significant PT.

I was trying to figure out minutes and points per game based on comments from the staff about style of play and which players have impressed them so far. One thing I came away with is I think this team can score. The below numbers add up to 80 ppg which is plenty good. Also, the minutes. I realize different posters have different favs and how they see minutes. I give you the below numbers as baseline numbers. There's only 200 mpg. Not everyone can play 25-30 mpg. And all 200 minutes cannot come from the backcourt. So, for me, the 80 minutes for the 4 and 5 spot are taken up by Polley, Whaley, Sanogo and Carlton. Yes, I realize Martin will play some minutes at the 4, but Polley may play some at the 3, so it's a wash.

Once Adams and Akok become healthy, and if either Springs or Brown earn PT, their minutes have to come out of the hide of someone else shown below. Playing time minutes are a zero sum game.

I think Sanogo is really talented and expect him to probably get as many rebounds as he does points. As a freshman post player, there is a tendency to get in to foul trouble as 20-21 year old upper classmen post players are just quicker and more explosive than kids coming right out of high school. I expect Sanogo to have a few games of 8 minutes and 4 fouls. I hope Josh's dropped weight helps him out and makes him more effective, but Hurley has basically said Whaley is starting somewhere in the post.
Whaley showed some offensive skills on his own to score in the paint but was also effective on alley oops and offensive rebound put backs. I expect Whaley to have the most consistent minutes, points, rebounds and the rest of the box score amongst all the post players.

I think between Cole and Gaff they will each have games where one is more of the scorer and one is more of the distributor. I think overall at the end of the season they will have similar points, minutes and rebounds but individually each game those numbers will vary wildly.

I know Jackson had some knee injuries but DH has said Jackson has a chance to be one of the best freshmen guards in the country. I realize every freshmen guard has that possibility right now since no games have been player, but it is obvious DH plans on giving Jackson every opportunity to be on the floor and make things happen.

Polley is going to get minutes somehow. Defensive rebounding numbers aside, he is a reliable shooter and can be disruptive defensively with his length. He will play and score to some extent. Same thing with Martin. He's already being slotted as a "glue" guy who will do dirty work and earn some minutes. Not much of a shooter, but can fill the lane on the break, get a put back off an offensive board and get a bucket here or there. Add in some rebounding and defense and he gets a few minutes here or there.

Bouk is the guaranteed minutes played and scoring leader of this team. He go really good with his scoring efficiency and I expect that to only get better. Against some lower level teams he will easily get some 25 points in 22 minutes of playing.

NameMPGPPG
Cole269.8
Gaffney288.5
Bouk3117.9
Polley249.5
Whaley2910.2
Jackson198.4
Martin165.8
Sanogo155.6
Carlton124.8
Totals20080.5
Wow man, @Chin Diesel , you got room for other stuff up there too? Props on diving in so deep :)
 

Chin Diesel

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Wow man, @Chin Diesel , you got room for other stuff up there too? Props on diving in so deep :)

Thanks. I think. I try to keep basketball related stuff to about 10% of what I do on this board. And I try to avoid details. This team, as Hurley is quoted in this morning's papers, does have the ability to match up against multiple styles of play and do so with UConn's game plan in mind and not just reacting to the opponent's game plan.

This team should definitely be the more pleasing for us fans to watch than the past several years have been for us.
 

Chin Diesel

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Another way to look at those numbers is the four players I consider to be guards Cole, Gaff, Bouk and Jackson account for about 55% of the scoring, the three post players- Polley, Carlton and Sanogo account for about 25% and the two 3/4 players, Polley and Martin get about 20% of the points.

If I had to make any changes to scoring and where it's coming from, I might take 2%-3% away from the Polley/Martin numbers and from the post players to get the guard scoring closer to 60% of the points, but who knows.
 
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The Big East is a pretty diverse league to the point where there are smaller, quicker teams where I can see Carlton getting almost no minutes at all (Creighton, Villianova, St. John's, DePaul) and teams with traditional centers where Carlton might be hugely relied on (Seton Hall, Providence, Georgetown).

Love this team's depth.
 

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