Observations from Open Practice

[uconnever]

Diarra and Nowell listed as having 15-20 lbs on Mahaney, meanwhile Mahaney listed as having a couple inches. He’s a slight kid, doesn’t appear to have touched many weights at StM.

If he’s going to be a productive piece he’s going to really have to anchor down on the offensive scheme and know it

I second this. It’s only a small sample, but enough to see some things that will pause my expectations. Much of us have been pencilling him in as a plug and play starter. I don’t think that’s a guarantee at this point, especially when battling a talented set of guards.

This.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

This.

Counterpoint: not this.

I can’t remember the last time a kid who was a proven commodity nationally like “Mahaney” was getting downplayed like this by our resident gurus. Some of these posts are going to age like milk.

 

[MTBingNinja]

Great experience but was BS that they didn’t allow you to sit where you wanted. Security personnel corralled fans to sit and complete one section at a time. Not as advertised. BS. Frustrated. Got there early too. False advertisement

 

[Husky Alien]

I wish I lived in state and could attend these events. I have read many of the posts and other media on the practice. General theme is we are deep and we knew that and Ross seemed to stand out.

But for two seasons some of us at least I know I have wondered what about Ross. Just from the little playing time he got you could see he was a plus athlete and appeared to be in tune at least offensively to what his teammates were doing when he had the ball. He seems to have the best handle of all the 6’7” talent we have (McNeeley, Stewart). I keep think he could find playing time because of that handle.

If we have to play without a center how about this line up, Karaban, Stewart, McNeeley, Ross and one of the three guards Diarra/Mahaney/Nowell. If it is Mahaney that group could be dangerous in transition and from behind the arc.

So for those who were there to see what I read Hurley was quoted as saying was an “authentic practice” was there anything from a critique standpoint of what Ross maybe did not do well.

Was it the hustle getting into new drills, was it body language if he was coached. Performance in defensive drills.

Looking for anything because I am fairly serious when I say what I have seen is a young man with pro talent. Seems pro scouts may feel the same way even last year. But he can’t stiff the rotation…..what is the missing information.

Wow! No mention of Solo Ball in this as if he's not even on the team. He is going to surprise alot of us I think.

 

[UofCT]

I'm going to go ahead and say folks are reading too much into Mahaney's performance today I couldn't make it, but the kid didn't average 14/3/3 on a top-25 team by accident.

What about his performance last season when he got worse in almost every statistical category?

 

[SaltyDog]

Similar to how people here shouldn’t overreact to the Mahaney takes, I think the same applies to the posts about Diarra turnovers.

Yes he did have a stretch late in the practice where he was trying to squeeze ambitious passes through tight windows in the lane that didn’t work and resulted in turnovers. I viewed them as the types of things you try in a practice to see if they can work and if your players can handle the passes. Unfortunately, they didn’t and he had a string of turnovers.

They probably work on those situations more and if they just don’t work, he knows he can’t do it in a game.

At this point, Diarra has proven himself to be reliable and a good in-game decision maker. I trust him.

Also, there was a post a while back in this thread questioning Diarra’s 3pt shooting ability…

The guy shot 36% overall and 42% in conference last year. Got better as the season went on.

His 3pt shot looked silky yesterday and he made more than he missed.

Do you have stats from yesterday??? I could be wrong as I was more focused on watching the newcomers, but I didn’t think Diarra shot well from 3. Don’t get me wrong, I love his game and he can hit an open three. I just think to get to the next level (1st or 2nd team Big East) he needs to be better at creating space for his outside shot.

 

[Waquoit]

Agree too early to tell, but Mountain West is Mountain West. Were you on the Selection Committee last March elevating MW teams?

So Mahaney is the guy you'll be shading this season

 

[SaltyDog]

Similar to how people here shouldn’t overreact to the Mahaney takes, I think the same applies to the posts about Diarra turnovers.

Yes he did have a stretch late in the practice where he was trying to squeeze ambitious passes through tight windows in the lane that didn’t work and resulted in turnovers. I viewed them as the types of things you try in a practice to see if they can work and if your players can handle the passes. Unfortunately, they didn’t and he had a string of turnovers.

They probably work on those situations more and if they just don’t work, he knows he can’t do it in a game.

At this point, Diarra has proven himself to be reliable and a good in-game decision maker. I trust him.

Also, there was a post a while back in this thread questioning Diarra’s 3pt shooting ability…

The guy shot 36% overall and 42% in conference last year. Got better as the season went on.

His 3pt shot looked silky yesterday and he made more than he missed.

Do you have stats from yesterday??? I could be wrong as I was more focused on watching the newcomers, but I didn’t think Diarra shot well from 3. Don’t get me wrong, I love his game and he can hit an open three. I just think to get to the next level (1st or 2nd team Big East) he needs to be better at creating space for his outside shot

The impressive part is the Edmund Saunders comp. Kudos, Mrs. GHSW!

Interesting comp, first reaction was no, but skill wise, it may be a good comp. The difference to me is the motor, Abraham runs at higher octane than Edmund did.

 

[UCFan1513]

Agree too early to tell, but Mountain West is Mountain West. Were you on the Selection Committee last March elevating MW teams?

He played in the WCC, dude

 

[bigknight3]

My BIGGEST takeaway, haven't seen it mentioned.

The first drill was split between Guards/Wings on one halfcourt practicing iso dribble drives to the hoop for layups.

The other side had Bigs (PF/C) working the pick and roll with the big scoring at the basket.

Stewart, Abraham, Ross, Samson, and Singare were the bigs.

It was noticeable that Karaban and McNeeley were with the guards/wings. I figured AK was there specifically cause the ball will be in his hands more and he'll be able to show the growth in his game and have the opportunity to face up and attack more from the top of the key.

The next drill still has Guards/Wings on one court and Bigs on the other. Except this time, Stewart/Ross joined the guards and wings. And Karaban switched over to the Bigs.

This tells me that Karaban, Stewart and Ross are the tweeners. And this makes sense given that Stewart backed up AK at the 4 last year but looks like he had the skillset to be swing.

The Big Takeaway is that Liam McNeeley never left the Guard/Wing group! And later in practice he was a ball handler for parts of the offensive sets.

People have speculated whether McNeeley or Stewart could play the the 2.

I think this means a big lineup is at least a possibility:

Diarra/Mahaney
Mcneeley
Stewart
Karaban
Samson/Reed

 

[Chief00]

So Mahaney is the guy you'll be shading this season

I hope he does great, yesterday he had a slow start but did well late.

 

[eos91]

Do you have stats from yesterday??? I could be wrong as I was more focused on watching the newcomers, but I didn’t think Diarra shot well from 3. Don’t get me wrong, I love his game and he can hit an open three. I just think to get to the next level (1st or 2nd team Big East) he needs to be better at creating space for his outside shot

Interesting comp, first reaction was no, but skill wise, it may be a good comp. The difference to me is the motor, Abraham runs at higher octane than Edmund did.

Abraham has crazy bounce and while skipping during warmups, he had serious hang time. He is not built like a freshman either and his shot looked a lot better than I expected. He will have a great career.

for whatever it’s worth, Alex showed a lot more bounce than last year and J Stew went to the locker room a bunch of times, so I would guess something was wrong, but ended the practice with three 3-pointers in a short span. Aidan has a nifty finishing package and the coaches really seem to be pushing Solo to push the ball and utilize his speed while attacking. I think they need it with Alex and Liam on the court together. i suspect that Solo will be a real X-factor this year. Watching Alex curl off of screens is a thing of beauty and he seemed to be coaching the newcomers on how to run the offense.

 

[husky429]

What about his performance last season when he got worse in almost every statistical category?

I'm not sure if you're making a bad faith argument or were too lazy to look at actual statistics. You should know by now that I'm not too lazy to look it up. Whatever the reason, you're just not correct.

PTS: 13.9 --> 13.9 = SAME
REB: 2.1 --2.6 = UP
AST: 2.0 --> 2.6 = UP

TO: 1.5 --> 1.4 = SAME
STL: 0.9 --> 0.8 = SAME
BLK: 0.1 --> 0.2 = SAME

2FG: 45% --> 42% (6.8 --> 5.9 attempts) = DOWN on lower volume
3FG: 40% --> 36% (6.9 --> 8.3 attempts) = DOWN on higher volume
FT: 72% --> 81% (2.0 --> 1.9 attempts) = UP on same volume

"Every statistical category" boils down to shooting, which is likely explained by being more of a focal point of the defense and team leader as a sophomore.

I wouldn't say that Aidan was a statistically better player as a sophomore... he was about equal, I guess. I haven't watched enough to really be sure. Which I'm sure factored into his decision to come to the best developmental program in the country. I can't imagine a world in which our staff prioritized him as our guard transfer if he didn't show improvement and have the mental make-up to be a part of our team. At the end of the day, Aidan is really, really good at the single most important skill in the game (shooting), and clearly showed enough to impress our staff that he can be a leader on our team.

We can look at some advanced stats too, since I have the time:

TS%: 53% --> 51%
PER: 16.3 --> 14.6
ORTG: 110 --> 113
DTRG: 99 --> 99
Win Shares: 4.0 --> 4.4
BPM: 4.1 --> 3.1
TRB%: 4.4 --> 4.8
AST%: 14.3 --> 14.4
BLK%: 0.2 --> 0.4
STL%: 1.8 --> 1.5
USG%: 25.7 --> 23.6

So, I guess... again... I see a player who stepped into a bigger role and basically kept his overall production without a substantial improvement. Really all of these except maybe ORTG, PER, and USG% are essentially a wash.

I'd love to hear @AidanFan20 's take on Mahaney's freshman to sophomore year improvement, or lack therof. He's probably watched more film than the rest of us combined.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Mahaney was at his best in their biggest games. He will be great for us.

Nah, some knowitall says “maybe pump the brakes”.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

LOL!! Announced attendance was 3000, St. Mary's plays in a place that holds 3500. Maybe pump the brakes on the hot takes.

You can go hot pump whatever you want, the kid as a freshman averaged 13ppg and 40% from beyond the arc, against teams like Gonzaga, Oregon State, Washington State, BYU, Utah, New Mexico, and San Diego. Against Gonzaga alone he averaged 19.5ppg over three games on the season.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

I made a comment about Mahaney not looking 6’3”. He seems smaller than Diarra and definitely smaller than Ball. From what I could see in the highlights he did not look much taller than Nowell who probably has 10-15 pounds on him.

Look I know he is a good player I remember what I saw when we played them. But let’s be honest once Dumas got hurt in that game it was over. It was going to get that way anyway but he was their best player from a matchup standpoint against us.

I don’t care if he’s 6’3” or 5’3”, a freshman that averages over 19 ppg against Gonzaga over three games on the season tells me something.

 

[BuffaloHusky]

I was there yesterday and I just thought Mahaney looked especially small compared to everyone else. That's not to say he won't be good or even great but based on the scrimmage there is no question in my mind there will be an adjustment period for him. Fortunately, playing everyday against Diarra, Nowell, Ball etc is just going to make him better.

 

[HooperScooper]

Counterpoint: not this.

I can’t remember the last time a kid who was a proven commodity nationally like “Mahaney” was getting downplayed like this by our resident gurus. Some of these posts are going to age like milk.

True dat!

Hurley said recently that for UConn to be national championship caliber, Mahaney is going to need to play at an All American level. I highly doubt he's putting that kind of pressure on a player who he doesn't think is really good and has that potential. Mahaney may not end up being an All American, and probabilities are he won't, but I'll trust Hurley's opinion over a couple posters on here who are making assumptions based on an hour of practice time in August.

 

[Umami Zen]

Wasn't there but based on comments from those that were-Sounds like our freshmen and sophomores are looking solid. Our second unit this season will be an asset -A key component to our goals. Trending well for August

 

[RuffRuff]

True dat!
Hurley said recently that for UConn to be national championship caliber, Mahaney is going to need to play at an All American level. I highly doubt he's putting that kind of pressure on a player who he doesn't think is really good and has that potential. Mahaney may not end up being an All American, and probabilities are he won't, but I'll trust Hurley's opinion over a couple posters on here who are making assumptions based on an hour of practice time in August.

Just because Hurley says it’s important doesn’t mean it’s going to play out. What is he going to say, it doesn’t matter if he is any good? Mahaney may work out just fine, he just didn’t pass the early eye test, key word being early.

Good catch by bigknight3. There could be something to this. Especially if we don’t have a slam dunk 2 and he wants to get Stew and McNeeley out there, and if he thinks the way we make up for 5 size/effectiveness is with size at the 2-4. Yesterday has made me think there may be an unanticipated wrinkle when the roster roles out, and it won’t be the Diarra/Mahaney/McNeeley/AK 1-4 like everyone anticipates.

 

[HooperScooper]

Just because Hurley says it’s important doesn’t mean it’s going to play out. What is he going to say, it doesn’t matter if he is any good? Mahaney may work out just fine, he just didn’t pass the early eye test, key word being early.

Why is he just saying that about Mahaney? He could have said that about Karaban. He could have said that about a few people on the team. And I did say the probability is Mahaney won't be an All American, so I agree with you there.

His name is Mahaney, not "Mahaney". Aidan Mahaney.

 

[mauconnfan]

True dat!

Hurley said recently that for UConn to be national championship caliber, Mahaney is going to need to play at an All American level. I highly doubt he's putting that kind of pressure on a player who he doesn't think is really good and has that potential. Mahaney may not end up being an All American, and probabilities are he won't, but I'll trust Hurley's opinion over a couple posters on here who are making assumptions based on an hour of practice time in August.

I mean I saw Mahaney a few times last year on TV and against us as a freshman. He passed the eye test in game situations easily and will be a very good player for us I do believe. How good may be unknown but he will have an impact because he’s a good basketball player.

 

[Hunt for 7]

Wow! No mention of Solo Ball in this as if he's not even on the team. He is going to surprise alot of us I think.

Nothing against Ball, I think he will be in the rotation as a given. Just trying to figure out who ends up being the odd man out. I would not want to be making that decision.

 

[awy]

recall when UConn got Maheney they said his shooting percentage was result of large amount of end of possession bail out shots he took for the team.

unless you too are diving into the synergy breakdowns and doing customized filters on what he can and cannot do, you can't judge him by overall numbers.

The staff is looking at the player with how they will use him in mind, and theyve certainly earned trust on their assessment of fit and potential on offense. It's a process to learn the offense and get comfortable, just have some patience.

 

[mauconnfan]

What about his performance last season when he got worse in almost every statistical category?

How about his freshman season when he shot 40% from 3? Why try to find the negatives when we know players get better when they get here and figure it out?