Need to shake things up

[Rico444]

You can't possibly think this is true.

I'm not talking about two guys that happen to be over 6'8", I'm talking about playing two centers which is what he would be doing here.

 

[imno1]

I'm not talking about two guys that happen to be over 6'8", I'm talking about playing two centers which is what he would be doing here.

I’m not sure if playing Adama and Donovan together would work or not but the status quo is not getting it done in BE play. I do know DC needs more than the 12 minutes per game he’s getting now and not always at the expense of Sanogo.

 

[gioff2323]

Jackson is only going to help the team if he can not constantly be over aggressive on defense and be on the floor with less than 2 fouls after the first 5 mins of each half.

He is a JR he is what he is an excellent athlete who tries to do way way to much.

He’s Ben Simmons II

 

[RichCTBB]

Given DH’s resistance to lineup changes, and unwillingness to go with 2 bigs, I think the only change in the starting lineup will be Diarra starting over Newton. He’s the only one contributing. He’s also the only one who might not get blown by on drives. Newton and Alleyne have been no shows. Joey C is ice cold (but I think he’s giving the effort).

 

[Rico444]

I’m not sure if playing Adama and Donovan together would work or not but the status quo is not getting it done in BE play. I do know DC needs more than the 12 minutes per game he’s getting now and not always at the expense of Sanogo.

Clingan has to play more, I agree 100%. It has to be at Adama's expense, though, because they play the same position. This isn't like when you have two point guards and you just play one at shooting guard.

This type of thinking is exactly what lead to our downfall in 2011-2012. Oriakhi and Drummond were two of our best five players, so we tried to play them together and it was a spectacular failure.

 

[JohnFSilver]

With Jackson at the point I’m hoping he realizes he should drive more instead of being on the perimeter. Karaban and Hawkins can occupy the 3point line with Karaban can also mixing it up inside

Players don't change because they are positional.

People get hung up on who is the PG and who is the wing. If you make Jackson the PG, what does that change? He already handles the ball a ton anyway.

 

[JohnFSilver]

Clingan has to play more, I agree 100%. It has to be at Adama's expense, though, because they play the same position. This isn't like when you have two point guards and you just play one at shooting guard.

This type of thinking is exactly what lead to our downfall in 2011-2012. Oriakhi and Drummond were two of our best five players, so we tried to play them together and it was a spectacular failure.

People love the double bigs, twin towers....

Clingan and Sanogo are the highest usage players on the team. UConn gets the ball inside, a lot. I think force-feedingthe ball inside has come to a detriment of the offensive flow.

 

[uconn_jack]

Why not. Joey has shown a willingness to take it to the hoop, and he did seem to find his shot later in the game yesterday. It might hurt us on defense, so maybe play DC a little more to clean up any mistakes.

Honestly, Joey is a better PG than Newton. Solid ball handler, plays at a good pace (I HATE the pace that Newton plays at), is a pretty good passer with good vision, and is surprisingly good at driving to the rim.

 

[Improviser]

Pace is really critical.

I've noticed that when Joey does bring the ball up court, he seems to be able to get off a better quality shot because he has control of the ball. His doing this should take pressure off Hawkins, assuming Joey can make the shots when he is playing PG.

Might be worth a shot.

Andre can get the ball up court too, but doesn't have the stroke to do much with it.

 

[NotADime89]

So I think we’ll be fine. I think we may have overachieved during the first two months and we need to reset our expectations.

Compete for Big East regular season title & win the Big East Tournament. Get to the S16. Let the chips fall where they may. Hurley knows he has to make an adjustment on offense and defense. Kids get in funks, losing streaks happen. We’ll bounce back.

But, with regards to a PG, this team is going nowhere without Tristan Newton. He’s played so poorly that he needs minutes reduced, but we’re not going far without him. Diarra can’t be given starter minutes and Jackson is not the answer either. Hurley needs to sit him down and figure it out.

Totally agree. Newton was supposed to be our best transfer we had coming in. If he doesn't start producing we are in big trouble. We need PK85 Newton back ASAP

 

[uconn_jack]

AS and DC together isn't going to change anything until and unless AS learns to pass. If not, then it's one or the other depending on the situation.

 

[BigFanCT]

PG: Jackson
SG: Joey C
SF: Hawkins
PF: Karaban
C: Sanogo

Jackson can play pure PG and distribute. He does not have to score. Joey C opens up another scoring option early, if it's not working - go to someone else. Newton is just not sustainable starting putting up the numbers he is right now. Maybe it will light a fire. Joey has proven a few times that when he is scoring, we are winning. Give him that chance - throw someone in early if it doesn't work out within the first few minutes.

 

[Hoophound]

PG: Jackson
SG: Joey C
SF: Hawkins
PF: Karaban
C: Sanogo

Jackson can play pure PG and distribute. He does not have to score. Joey C opens up another scoring option early, if it's not working - go to someone else. Newton is just not sustainable starting putting up the numbers he is right now. Maybe it will light a fire. Joey has proven a few times that when he is scoring, we are winning. Give him that chance - throw someone in early if it doesn't work out within the first few minutes.

The issue is that Newton should not be terrible. He’s proven to be a very talented player. The Big East is not that much better than the American. It’s better but not so much better that a guy averaging 17.9 should drop to 8.8ppg and look awful doing it. It is a schematic problem. We need to solve that. Even with Hawk and Sanogo out there, Newton should still be the lead guard and score 10-12 ppg. Moving on from the only possible answer we have at that position isn’t a winning proposition.

 

[Hoophound]

Honestly, Joey is a better PG than Newton. Solid ball handler, plays at a good pace (I HATE the pace that Newton plays at), is a pretty good passer with good vision, and is surprisingly good at driving to the rim.

I don’t know. I’d love that to be the case but Joey seems to get figured out pretty quick. Newton is a mess but he showed consistent ability to be so much more at ECU. You have to wonder where the blame lies. I think we need to get Newton and Alleyne back to “normal” to get very far.

 

[UConnSwag11]

People love the double bigs, twin towers....

Clingan and Sanogo are the highest usage players on the team. UConn gets the ball inside, a lot. I think force-feedingthe ball inside has come to a detriment of the offensive flow.

you don’t even have to run anything other than a pick and roll for Clingan. He’s there for defense

 

[Dezoworld]

Need more scoring from our guards including AJax. UConn is depending on 2 guys to score.

 

[superjohn]

I'm not talking about two guys that happen to be over 6'8", I'm talking about playing two centers which is what he would be doing here.

You can't possibly think no teams play 2 centers together in the last 15-20 years. Watch some games outside of UConn.

 

[Hunt for 7]

Have to agree with @Hoophound, Newton and Alleyne have a good track record playing against similar competition. If they could just play closer to the level they came out of the portal playing it would change things dramatically.

 

[Rico444]

You can't possibly think no teams play 2 centers together in the last 15-20 years. Watch some games outside of UConn.

It's at best extremely rare. Why do you think that is?

 

[Kolumbo]

 

[HuskyHawk]

It's at best extremely rare. Why do you think that is?

I mean, Xavier does. Freemantle is as tall as Sanogo, or taller. Sanogo is 6'9". I don't think it's the answer because the problem is something deeper, but a few minutes a game wouldn't hurt.

I see so many divergent views here, it is kind of wild.

• No PG! Yeah, because the offense is designed to have multiple facilitators and no true PG, just like say, the Boston Celtics. The onus is on people making themselves available for passes with motion and cuts, something they did and then stopped doiing.
• Pace is bad! Yeah, that tends to happen when the other team makes layups. Pace comes from rebounding misses, especially jump shots. Unfortunately, pulling our bigs away from the rim encourages layups and hurts rebounding.
• Sanogo can't defend the rim! Yes, the BE preseason player of the year that averaged 2 blocks a game last year despite high hedge defense suddenly forgot how to defend the rim. He's not Thabeet, but he can defend the paint.

The one thing I don't see, and I think we should consider, is that Jackson can be dynamic at times, but ultimately, he isn't generating offense and is a turnover machine. We need his rebounding, but we probably need to reduce his touches on offense. Let him focus on defense and rebounding, because we desperately need Dennis Rodman. I think we might find that Newton and Alleyne play better if we do that. In short, minimize Jackson in half court. I'm fine with him in transition.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Hey Guys,

Excellent brain-storming here.

One thing must be said RE: using Sanogo & Clingan as Twin Towers. HURLEY MUST get Sanogo to completely buy in on making Clingan better & working to use the twin tower to full advantage. Otherwise....

I've been watching Sanogo closely as Clingan evolves. I don't think he is accepting Clingan at all. Sanogo looks like a man apart, unable to move outside his 1-2 offensive moves, rarely passing out, & never passing once to Clingan when they have played together. He believes all his pre-season hype. It's easy to see.

Sanogo thinks Clingan is taking bread off his table (it may end up that way). But if they work together & accept each other, it could work. But the odd's of success mid-season for sustainable success with these Twin Towers are not good - especially with Sanogo's obvious attitude in this scenario.

I think Sanogo needs some more "wake up" time on the pine. And Clingan should get the minutes, even with his freshman mistakes. His upside is huge. And Sanogo detracts from his rapid development. Sadly, Sanogo does not make anyone on this Husky team better, despite his stats/

Utilizing aTwin Towers can be incredibly effective, like watching Sampson & Olajuwon play way above the square on the backboard, passing to & making each other better for Houston in the 80's. Can Sanogo do that????

Father Demo

Crazy thing is if Sanogo could develop the ability to be a good playmaker it’d do wonders for his post career. But it’s year 3 and we’re still dealing with this.

 

[Rico444]

I mean, Xavier does. Freemantle is as tall as Sanogo, or taller. Sanogo is 6'9". I don't think it's the answer because the problem is something deeper, but a few minutes a game wouldn't hurt.

Freemantle isn't a center, he's a power forward. He regularly shoots 3s and takes his man off the dribble. He just happens to also be 6'9“.

 

[Louis]

If Jackson can consistently score 10+ ppg, then I’m all in on this lineup

He can score more than that if he gets closer to the hoop. He's 30 feet away much of the time.

 

[MuchoDogYears]

Can we see what the euros can do?

Why not? Right? Who here can make a case for Alleyne deserving court time? Give the Greek kid his minutes and let’s see what happens. How could it possibly be any worse?