Next Season

[tzznandrew]

Hurley has made it clear since the day Bouknight stepped on campus that he expected him to be here for 2 years and then a lottery pick in the NBA

What Hurley didn't expect was Akok injured for year 3, Jackson mostly injured for year 3 and for Bouk to be injured for year 3.

The roster was designed—reasonable—for a team that never actually got to play together.

May take until Hawkins' sophomore year before we see the team we thought we'd have this year. Injuries—paired with the terrible roster we would have somehow overcome without the injuries—really decimated this team.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

I don’t agree. He has potential but for some reason doesn’t show it except infrequently if games. I think we absolutely have to over recruit him and bring in a tough guard who can attack the basket and dish off .

gonna hunt u down, like a gallon of water after a jog in the desert, as mr gaffney's career steadily unfolds in a most excellant way. get a flak jacket, along with the others. duck! lol.
jmoney is currently shooting around 90% at the line in conference, which, already in his short career, puts him near the top for all of college bball. the honest critic can compare his stats from last season to this and think 'progress-real progress.' moar to come.

 

[Huskymagic]

What Hurley didn't expect was Akok injured for year 3, Jackson mostly injured for year 3 and for Bouk to be injured for year 3.

The roster was designed—reasonable—for a team that never actually got to play together.

May take until Hawkins' sophomore year before we see the team we thought we'd have this year. Injuries—paired with the terrible roster we would have somehow overcome without the injuries—really decimated this team.

Keep thinking like this and making excuses like this and Hurley will have produced worse results than Ollie despite making 3 million a year.

You don’t get paid 3 million a year to take March off repeatedly.

And no one was a bigger critic of Ollie than me. This is UCONN and expectations and ability to recruit here is at a high level. Point guard recruiting is hurting us big time. That is where Hurley needs to hit a home run.

PS: Right now Hurley needs to evolve from a likeable figurehead to someone who gets us past the little engine that could.

PS: People comparing him to Mick Cronin are off. Mick pretty much never missed the tournament during his tenure at Cinci and they were always rolling. Their talent level wasn’t great and Mick choked in big game situations against non-UCONN teams.

PS: Someone tell Hurley to start wearing suits again during games. He’s way too casual lately.

 

[Brochacho]

Hurley has made it clear since the day Bouknight stepped on campus that he expected him to be here for 2 years and then a lottery pick in the NBA

Yeah. When Hurley brought in that first class I think he thought Bouk and Akok were two and done, lottery potential players. Obviously, injuries. Can't imagine how good this team would be without the injuries to Bouk, Akok, Polley and Jackson.

But I think next year is going to be great. Samson Johnson is maybe the most underappreciated/ underrated recruit we've gotten. Can't help but look at his skillset and his ranking and wonder if we have a Marquese Chriss under the radar NBA prospect coming in. And I think some people wonder what kind of player Tyler Polley would be if he played defense and was more consistent in his shooting. I think that answer may be Jordan Hawkins. Martin is a great 1B player at the college level. Andre Jackson and Adama Sanogo should hopefully take sizable sophomore leaps. We'll have a three-man competition at PG. If Akok can get to 100%, next year's team is scary.

 

[HuskyHawk]

They're most likely not going to be our primary point guards.

Agree with everything you said except this. Gaff will be the PG. I expect Cole to be a version of John Gwynn. I don't think Diggins is coming in and starting over a Junior and Senior. If Hurley thinks the position is unsalvageable, then we could get a grad transfer. Seems unlikely.

Overall the team has some talent coming back, especially if Akok is healthy and Hawkins can have an impact early on. Jackson will be a starter. I think we have some pieces to be a very good defensive team and to run more. But then I thought that this year.

 

[superjohn]

Agree with everything you said except this. Gaff will be the PG. I expect Cole to be a version of John Gwynn. I don't think Diggins is coming in and starting over a Junior and Senior. If Hurley thinks the position is unsalvageable, then we could get a grad transfer. Seems unlikely.

Overall the team has some talent coming back, especially if Akok is healthy and Hawkins can have an impact early on. Jackson will be a starter. I think we have some pieces to be a very good defensive team and to run more. But then I thought that this year.

Unless Gaffney makes a major leap you can expect us to play slow and stagnant again next year if Gaff is our primary point.

 

[casual-yardin]

Keep thinking like this and making excuses like this and Hurley will have produced worse results than Ollie despite making 3 million a year.

You don’t get paid 3 million a year to take March off repeatedly.

And no one was a bigger critic of Ollie than me. This is UCONN and expectations and ability to recruit here is at a high level. Point guard recruiting is hurting us big time. That is where Hurley needs to hit a home run.

PS: Right now Hurley needs to evolve from a likeable figurehead to someone who gets us past the little engine that could.

PS: People comparing him to Mick Cronin are off. Mick pretty much never missed the tournament during his tenure at Cinci and they were always rolling. Their talent level wasn’t great and Mick choked in big game situations against non-UCONN teams.

PS: Someone tell Hurley to start wearing suits again during games. He’s way too casual lately.

Why do people keep bringing up Hurley's pay? It's happened in several threads. Do you want the school to pay our coach less than what the market dictates?

 

[ucp990411]

I have heard that players get better with more experience. Is that true?

Not always. See Josh Carlton and Tyler Polley

 

[tzznandrew]

PS: People comparing him to Mick Cronin are off. Mick pretty much never missed the tournament during his tenure at Cinci and they were always rolling. Their talent level wasn’t great and Mick choked in big game situations against non-UCONN teams.

Mick Cronin missed the NCAAs his first four years as a coach at Cincinnati. That despite the fact that, when he took over, they were coming off a 21 win season in the NIT, and before that 14 straight NCAA tournaments.

 

[3rdbass]

Yeah. When Hurley brought in that first class I think he thought Bouk and Akok were two and done, lottery potential players. Obviously, injuries. Can't imagine how good this team would be without the injuries to Bouk, Akok, Polley and Jackson.

But I think next year is going to be great. Samson Johnson is maybe the most underappreciated/ underrated recruit we've gotten. Can't help but look at his skillset and his ranking and wonder if we have a Marquese Chriss under the radar NBA prospect coming in. And I think some people wonder what kind of player Tyler Polley would be if he played defense and was more consistent in his shooting. I think that answer may be Jordan Hawkins. Martin is a great 1B player at the college level. Andre Jackson and Adama Sanogo should hopefully take sizable sophomore leaps. We'll have a three-man competition at PG. If Akok can get to 100%, next year's team is scary.

And you forgot if he Polley had the athletic talent this kid has. Jordan is a lot better athlete than Tyler Polley could ever hope to be.

 

[bendm]

next season we might have the best frontcourt in the BE but a very shaky and inexperienced backcourt, so Hurley really needs to bring in 2 more Gs with the open schollys.

can't expect diggings to steadily run the point from day 1, so a starting caliber grad transfer PG would be ideal. with the other scholly we could always use more help on the wing. nimari could really help with both needs. otherwise...

Diggins-Cole
Hawkins-Gaff
Jackson-Adams
Martin--Akok---Springs
Sanogo-Samson

 

[superjohn]

I really don't understand all these posters thinking next year is going to be weak. We were always supposed to be better next season than this season even with Bouknight on the team this year.

 

[tennmike]

I really don't understand all these posters thinking next year is going to be weak. We were always supposed to be better next season than this season even with Bouknight on the team this year.

Right...and "pump the brakes" is philosophy adopted by losers.

 

[bendm]

I really don't understand all these posters thinking next year is going to be weak. We were always supposed to be better next season than this season even with Bouknight on the team this year.

i love the frontcourt but i'm trying to curb my enthusiasm Re: starting 2 freshmen in the backcourt, even if they are both top 50 recruits

who Hurley brings in with the other 2 schollys can turn us into a top 10-15 team

 

[HuskyHawk]

I really don't understand all these posters thinking next year is going to be weak. We were always supposed to be better next season than this season even with Bouknight on the team this year.

Think people underestimate the fact that our roster doesn't fit the way Hurley wants to play. Especially with Bouk and Akok out. Polley is a tall guard who can't dribble or defend. Josh is an immobile center who can't hedge or play outside the paint. Whaley is a PF who is very limited offensively. Adams is an ok bench combo guard.

Next year we presumably have:

• 3 PGs (even with whatever limits they have)
• Wings who can do lots of things in Martin, Jackson, Hawkins, plus Adams
• 2 shot blocking stretch 4's who can play 5 against smaller teams in Akok and Johnson.
• A center who can score around the basket, rebound and is improving on defense, plus whatever Springs can give us
• 2 more open scholarships.

That's a lot more flexibility and athleticism than we have now.

 

[uconnever]

If next season is a rebuilding type year we have major friggin' problems. We'll have Jackson, Sanogo, Akok, Martin, Hawkins, Diggins, Johnson, Gaffney, and Cole plus another player or two coming in. That's a lot of talent.

Yeah we will be better next year than this year I believe.

 

[Get a Job]

Is it not the case that, nearly every year, the team is worse than the ABE™ (Average Boneyard Expectations) Index? I wasn't on the 'yard then, but I expect the only times the team ever met the ABE were 2011 and 2014. I bet even 2004 fell short, when the Boneyard undoubtedly predicted an undefeated season with an average margin of victory of 30 points.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

3 PGs (even with whatever limits they have)

• Wings who can do lots of things in Martin, Jackson, Hawkins, plus Adams
• 2 shot blocking stretch 4's who can play 5 against smaller teams in Akok and Johnson.
• A center who can score around the basket, rebound and is improving on defense, plus whatever Springs can give us
• 2 more open scholarships.

That's a lot more flexibility and athleticism than we have now.

I agree with you that we should - in theory - have a lot of flexibility next year. Who is the guy that gets you a bucket when you need one?

 

[TheChamps990411]

If Bouknight is gone how are we replacing 20 points and 5 rebounds with a takeover the game scorer? Bouknight is the player that keeps the team competitive against quality opponents and elevates his teammates games. what Is the roster potential?

Youre assuming no improvement from returning players.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Hurley has to fix his gameplan on both ends. I don't think it needs an overhaul, but it needs some work. That would be a good offseason thread. The smart move would be to hand game planning off to an assistant but I don't know if Hurley will ever do that.

UConn has enough talent now to finish in the top half of the Big East, and will next year too.

 

[Giddyup5]

Unless Gaffney makes a major leap you can expect us to play slow and stagnant again next year if Gaff is our primary point.

Yes. But Hurley is the biggest reason we play slow. It’s by design which is what scares me the most.

 

[ARIDE]

Everyone casually not mentioning akok?

Akok is not a scorer and will not be! He will help out in some manner but not a guy you put the ball in his hands to get his own shot and create down the stretch or with shot clock expiring. Maybe he makes a few uncontested 3's, put backs,blocks some shots but cant replace or fill the need we need at the 3!

 

[Watchdog]

I agree with you that we should - in theory - have a lot of flexibility next year. Who is the guy that gets you a bucket when you need one?

Early season: Sanogo
Later: Jackson
Late: Hawkins
Admittedly, I'm an optimist!