Nowell Sighting

[RuffRuff]

Watching Nowell in his limited minutes. Stronger than Mahaney so that is good but he is so short that he got shot over on a play by a guard and I would imagine that he will get driven on at every opportunity.
So yes put him out there instead of Mahaney but it’s no long term solution to our guard problems.
Now if he was an ace 3 point shooter it would help.

Way I see it is you go out and get a tiny guard in this system, he’s got to be an amazing handle/penetrator. I’m not seeing that. That said he’s only a frosh.

 

[3rdbass]

In the little bit I've seen of Nowell, he doesn't really run the offense all that well, his outside shooting is off, and his defense is less than advertised. I've seen him attack the hoop well, which is about the only positive I have seen. I'd probably prefer backup by committee at this point.

He has barely played this year and is a Freshman. He actually improved from his last out aaginst Xavier as he had 0 turnovers and was pressed even harder. It is hard to prove a lot in 3-5 minute stints when you are a Freshman. He needs to get the majority of the backup minutes for Diarra as has been talked about to death Mahaney isn't a PG and shouldn't be used as one. If you want him to come off the bench as a shooter then that is fine but let's develop Nowell for this year(Limited backup minutes) for next year. Mahaney is a JR. so he pretty much is who he is at this point of his career and hee is clearly overmatched playing PG with little room for improvement due to his skills and physical abilities.

 

[boog204]

Was glad to see him on the court. But, it's kind of a crap shoot between him and Aidan as the other guard. Both are shaky with the ball. Nowell should be the better defender but he's played so little that the speed of the game is going to be a challenge that usually would have been remedied in the early stages of the season.

 

[3rdbass]

Was glad to see him on the court. But, it's kind of a crap shoot between him and Aidan as the other guard. Both are shaky with the ball. Nowell should be the better defender but he's played so little that the speed of the game is going to be a challenge that usually would have been remedied in the early stages of the season.

Nowell needs more time to improve there. Unfortunately we are in the meat of the season so up against a rock and a hard place giving him that time big games. I still think he can carve out 4-6 minutes a game to give Diarra a rest.

 

[NJHusky]

IDK, pretty darned sure he was brought here as a lead 1. Perhaps they were slanting it as him being more of a combo out of the 1, more of that Newton role, but he was brought here to play the 1.

I have very little confidence he lights it up anywhere other than St Mary’s. Would be funny if Few took him.

That would be funny....but I wonder if his style of play only works for a very deliberate style offense...like he was used to @ St Mary's. He could never get up to the speed of the Uconn offense, and it ground to a halt with him pounding the ball. He had more 10 sec calls or almost calls than I've ever seen..and he only played sparingly after the first few weeks

 

[Deleted at users request]

Watching Court of Gold on Netflix. Great watch by the way.

Coach Pop is talking about Tony Parker and he says four games into the season he gave him the basketball and said

“You’re going to run the show here. You’re going to be really successful or you’re going to fail miserably. But we aren’t going to wait a year or two to find out.”

I wish we could adopt this kind of philosophy for Nowell and more.

 

[RuffRuff]

That would be funny....but I wonder if his style of play only works for a very deliberate style offense...like he was used to @ St Mary's. He could never get up to the speed of the Uconn offense, and it ground to a halt with him pounding the ball. He had more 10 sec calls or almost calls than I've ever seen..and he only played sparingly after the first few weeks

You watch him now and there’s no urgency, so methodical. Everything he does looks overly calculated versus free flowing and instinctual, so really does look like a system mismatch as he hasn’t adjusted to pace or physicality at all. I mean he dribbles in place constantly with no intention other than a leisurely swing pass to another perimeter player. Half the time we are starting the offense with him out there we’re already under 20 on the SH. An entirely boring watch to top it off. Maybe he does go right back to StM.

I know we played a slower pace last year, and maybe the staff thought we could replicate that. Hasn’t worked out.

 

[Fishy]

I think Mahaney is a good player…but for whatever reason, it’s not working here.

Every minute he gets over Nowell is an issue.

 

[Huskyforlife]

I think Mahaney is a good player…but for whatever reason, it’s not working here.

Every minute he gets over Nowell is an issue.

I think it’s fine to admit now that the guy who shot 38% from the field in a mid major conference wasn’t a good player. He also couldn’t be projected to ever be a positive on one half of the floor either.

I don’t blame coaches here or elsewhere (Virginia/creighton/kentucky) for trying to resurrect the magic he had as a freshman. But it’s clear the start to his career was fluky now.

 

[jibsey]

Nowell can contribute and try to defend but how does he improve his lack of size? He was closely guarding a player last night who simply jumped up and shot it in right over him. Is he a great outside shooter?
Can he get to the rim at his size?
He’s been touted as an answer but those questions have nothing to do with experience.

 

[gtcam]

Way I see it is you go out and get a tiny guard in this system, he’s got to be an amazing handle/penetrator. I’m not seeing that. That said he’s only a frosh.

He was extremely good during his AAU seasons. Drove with authority, hit outside shots, passed well, saw the court and has a very good handle.
As Mau said above, no time or appropriate to judge him on a short period of time in a pressure cooker game while his teammates were standing watching him being double and tripled team.
Probably won't see him next year - he is most likely portal bound. Maybe Nova picks him up!!??
It's a shame because I wanted this kid to come to UConn after I first saw him in 2022.I guess Dan Hurley's MO is recruit kids with great ratings to help your recruitment score and then hide them on the bench. Nowell wasn't the first and sadly won't be the last.

 

[El Obrero]

We need a guy to play ten minutes a game without being a turnover machine so Diarra can rest without the team going down by double digits. Nowell doesn’t turn the ball over. It’s got to be the injuries that made Hurley mistrust his preparedness, but there’s no time left for mistrust now. Gotta play him.

 

[uconnfan68]

That would be funny....but I wonder if his style of play only works for a very deliberate style offense...like he was used to @ St Mary's. He could never get up to the speed of the Uconn offense, and it ground to a halt with him pounding the ball. He had more 10 sec calls or almost calls than I've ever seen..and he only played sparingly after the first few weeks

He shouldn't be the initiator. Let him be Solo's backup.

 

[cp176]

I feel really bad for a kid like Mahaney. He is an undersized spot up shooter not in any way a point guard. He just is stuck. When people want you to play the point without the necessary skills it sucks. When he is on the floor, playing man (which we should be playing), our opponents immediately recognize the mismatch and take him right to the basket. He looks frustrated which is totally understandable , but I don’t think anything is going to change for him.

 

[Juggy]

Thought should have been put in to get feet wet in first half since he hasn’t seen any action for a while instead of that part of the game,and was totally used on the defensive end !! Totally a tough spot for him yesterday

 

[Scrutineer]

What is going on in Mahaneys head? He must have pulled a few Stuart Smalley’s before he decided to come across the country to play in the big bad BE, and that Hurley was gonna make him the next John Stockton.

Now he can’t hit the floor for 3 minutes without shatting his pants. He’s been an utter disaster. They need to take pieces of his brain matter into the lab this offseason to dissect to understand how to fully avoid this kind of calamity again. Poor kid probably can’t wait to hop a red eye back to the bay area with his tail between his legs.

I wonder where he ends up next. I just hope he recovers.

You're not wrong on how he's performed, but it was great to see how energized and happy he seemed when we went on the 27-6 run. No moping on the bench. Genuinely happy for the team.

 

[RuffRuff]

I feel really bad for a kid like Mahaney. He is an undersized spot up shooter not in any way a point guard. He just is stuck. When people want you to play the point without the necessary skills it sucks. When he is on the floor, playing man (which we should be playing), our opponents immediately recognize the mismatch and take him right to the basket. He looks frustrated which is totally understandable , but I don’t think anything is going to change for him.

He's way too small to play 2G effectively anywhere defensively. He is a small, slight guy. Especially if he had any consideration of playing at a next level. Bigger dribble penetrators dust him or physically impose themselves on him. I for one think the reason he came here was to be tutored into a PG situation in an intricate offense, a good opportunity for someone of his stature/skill. It makes a ton of sense for him. I'm sure the staff saw an interesting profile of a guy that played some PG, takes to coaching and had unique shot creating traits they could use similar to how we used Newton.

They underestimated the physical disadvantages he had to overcome as it comes to size and quickness. His upside potential was entirely based on building savvy and smarts (like Cam), which didn't materialize.

 

[husky429]

I feel really bad for a kid like Mahaney. He is an undersized spot up shooter not in any way a point guard. He just is stuck. When people want you to play the point without the necessary skills it sucks. When he is on the floor, playing man (which we should be playing), our opponents immediately recognize the mismatch and take him right to the basket. He looks frustrated which is totally understandable , but I don’t think anything is going to change for him.

It's not like he was surprised we asked him to play point. That's what he was recruited as and why donors put up a bunch of money to get him in Storrs. He's making six-figures to stink right now... I don't think there's any reason to feel bad for him.

 

[Drfla]

You watch him now and there’s no urgency, so methodical. Everything he does looks overly calculated versus free flowing and instinctual, so really does look like a system mismatch as he hasn’t adjusted to pace or physicality at all. I mean he dribbles in place constantly with no intention other than a leisurely swing pass to another perimeter player. Half the time we are starting the offense with him out there we’re already under 20 on the SH. An entirely boring watch to top it off. Maybe he does go right back to StM.

I know we played a slower pace last year, and maybe the staff thought we could replicate that. Hasn’t worked out.

Not sticking up for Mahaney in any way but Diarra does the same thing pounding the ball. they hardly ever get into their offense before there are 15 seconds on the clock. And they hardly ever get any easy fast break points.

 

[WeAreUCONN]

Didn’t see it mentioned anywhere, but it was good to see him back and get a little run. He seemed to handle Nova’s solid on ball pressure pretty well. We are going to need him to relieve Diarra a bit moving forward.

Not hating on Nowell but he isn’t skilled enough to help us. He does nothing well and he’s undersized. He isn’t the answer.

 

[ucp990411]

Pretty clear last night that we are better when we run. Something I noticed about Redd is that he is not the quickest with an outlet pass

 

[Stinger92860]

Unfortunately, AM has been a disaster all year. How some folks here were propping him up I will never understand. He is clearly overmatched here. If he goes elsewhere and lights it up, good for him. He received NIL to do a job and he didn’t come close to meeting the requirements.

 

[3rdbass]

Watching Nowell in his limited minutes. Stronger than Mahaney so that is good but he is so short that he got shot over on a play by a guard and I would imagine that he will get driven on at every opportunity.
So yes put him out there instead of Mahaney but it’s no long term solution to our guard problems.
Now if he was an ace 3 point shooter it would help.

Wasn't Mahaney supposed to be a good 3 Point shooter too? He is shooting 32.1% this year from 3. I know not a huge smaple but his shooting is down 8% from his Freshmen year.

 

[superjohn]

Unfortunately, AM has been a disaster all year. How some folks here were propping him up I will never understand. He is clearly overmatched here. If he goes elsewhere and lights it up, good for him. He received NIL to do a job and he didn’t come close to meeting the requirements.

You shouldnt be looking at fans who propped him up, our coach who won back to back in the most dominant fashion was pumping him up and he thought he would be our starting point guard. He has a pretty good track record.

 

[djct1999]

Maheney is way better of a player than he is showing. From middle school aau on, he wax Gary bennett’s golden child. I figured there would be a grace period but he has regressed rather than progressed. It’s a real shame because the kid can ball. Always had. That said, nowell has the reached boneyard lore. There is a reason he isn’t playing. Either he isn’t ready or he isn’t UConn good. My guess is both. There hasn’t been a single minute where he has been on the floor and felt this kid could contribute right now. The fixation on here is downright bizarre.

 

[Hoophound]

Nowell isn’t being overrated by anyone. We just really need another pg and time is running out.

He’s also a 4 star recruit and an ESPN top 30 player. Not chopped liver.

 

[husky429]

Nowell isn’t being overrated by anyone. We just really need another pg and time is running out.

He’s also a 4 star recruit and an ESPN top 30 player. Not chopped liver.

My thoughts are... we haven't seen enough of Nowell to know if he can be the backup. But we NEED a backup for Hass in March, and we don't have one. We might as well develop the only backup potential PG we've got.

 

[jibsey]

Nowell isn’t being overrated by anyone. We just really need another pg and time is running out.

He’s also a 4 star recruit and an ESPN top 30 player. Not chopped liver.

4 star at his size against high school players? Against taller guards in the BE different story. He’s certainly more secure with the ball than Mahaney but the jury is still out with him.
Is he too short to defend? They can shoot over him, just saw it.
Can he create easy assist baskets with speed?
Can he knock down 3’s?
There are plenty of ways for him to help but just haven’t seen it yet.

 

[djct1999]

My thoughts are... we haven't seen enough of Nowell to know if he can be the backup. But we NEED a backup for Hass in March, and we don't have one. We might as well develop the only backup potential PG we've got.

Except the few times he has played he seemed overwhelmed and the calander is turning to March. This should have been the plan in November but back then the staff still had hopes for Mahaney. It was a swing and a miss. It happens. For now, we are still better w Liam, Solo, or Jaylen bringing the ball up.

 

[Umami Zen]

FWIW-Nowell has had nagging injuries which have impeded his ability to get PT even if Dan would have played him. He has hardly broken a sweat in the games he's played in before being put back on the bench. And Dan has been determined to give AM chances to redeem himself multiple times ahead of playing Nowell (if available due to injuries).

So- He's put in a game down 8 so that Hass can get some much needed rest. The opposition has big athletic guards who are pressing him 3/4 court/full court. And he's bringing the ball up by himself-no safety valves as help outlets. His teammates are concentrating on getting into their sets with their backs to him-not available to receive a pass until he's over half-court if then. Refs letting the defense body him/bump him. And despite those challenges and lack of help-He still can initiate some form of the offense-his job.

He's not a finished product by any stretch but he and Mahaney are our only solutions to rest Hass unless you totally abandon any semblance of a PG initiated offense by having Liam play point forward .

Pitino has already stated that his strategy vs us was to press us to tire out our legs so that our offense and shooting would be effected later in the game. It was less about getting TOs and more about breaking us down. Hass is playing at 70-75% . What do you think is going to happen on Sunday? Gonna press.

For better or worse. Its a combo of AM/AN or Liam as Hass's backup. Not Nowell's fault.