Observations from Open Practice

[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?

 

[Deleted at users request]

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?

Fwiw, transfers typically take two seasons to figure it out. Newton struggled for parts of his first season. Same with RJ Cole, Tyrese Martin, Diarra.

The only ones who came out the gate ready were Joey C and Cam. Cam was in general a special player who showed every time he had a chance at any summer event that he was ready.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

There will be a couple givens this upcoming season, that may be viewed by some as problems but these are nice problems to have.

• We have a very good idea of what will happen at the five (nearly all minutes split between Johnson & Reed) but this along with Karaban at the four are likely the only spots where we can confidently say that everyone will receive sufficient playing time (and in all candor, Karaban could well get less PT this upcoming year than he did either of his first two seasons here).
• I highly doubt that we will go to a nine man rotation (although I can see this in some early games) but if we did, there will be at least two players who could see reasonable PT on many quality teams who will only see garbage time minutes. If the rotation is eight men, then you can add another player capable of minutes being placed on the back burner.
• Four or five of our players (depending on how large our rotation end up) will be playing six to eight fewer minutes per game here than they would if they were on most other schools that would crack the top twelve to fifteen. We have that much depth.
• I can foresee numerous boneyard debates that end up turning vicious between now and late December as different posters, who prefer different players, attempt to stake a claim as to why this player should be starting while that player should not be in the rotation, with another poster claining the exact opposite. This can happen with any two of six, seven or eight kids on our roster. This may end up being almost as entertaining as the games themselves.

 

[superjohn]

I’ll reserve judgment as only one practice and he’s still figuring it out, but I didn’t see that. He looked miniature and lacked presence, really didn’t do much. What “guard skills” do you speak of? Wasn’t a ton of play making or shot making. Yes he has a nice low handle, but not sure that’s enough to run with. I didn’t see much that suggested a guarantee starter or a Cam type player, today. Again it’s early, but easily the player who lacked impact at the guard position. His shot lacks rotation, kind of pushes it. I definitely did not walk away with your impression but eye of beholder.

I wouldn't worry about Mahaney's shooting or play, he's a career 38% three point shooter on a bad offensive team where he had to take tough shots. He passes the eye test as a player and shooter in his college career.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Fwiw, transfers typically take two seasons to figure it out. Newton struggled for parts of his first season. Same with RJ Cole, Tyrese Martin, Diarra.

The only ones who came out the gate ready were Joey C and Cam. Cam was in general a special player who showed every time he had a chance at any summer event that he was ready.

This is where I'm at. Mahaney was worse in the WCC than Spencer in the B10. Expecting him to play at an AA level year 1 in our system is highly unrealistic, regardless of Dans expectations.

If Mahaney starts every game, averages near double digits on respectable efficiency, and plays a connecting role in our sets that allow the breakout stars to get their shots. He'll be an important contributor to a potential championship team.

Based on what kind of flashes and development he shows throughout this season, it'll be more realistic to put AA expectations on him for his senior year.

 

[Deleted at users request]

This is where I'm at. Mahaney was worse in the WCC than Spencer in the B10. Expecting him to play at an AA level year 1 in our system is highly unrealistic, regardless of Dans expectations.

If Mahaney starts every game, averages near double digits on respectable efficiency, and plays a connecting role in our sets that allow the breakout stars to get their shots. He'll be an important contributor to a potential championship team.

Based on what kind of flashes and development he shows throughout this season, it'll be more realistic to put AA expectations on him for his senior year.

Agreed, I think Cam made things look so easy that people seem to have similar expectations for Mahaney because they have similar play styles. But what Cam did was not normal.

Also Mahaney would have a much heavier load than Cam because he’s not playing with a Clingan in the paint, Newton next to him, and Castle after that.

He was really good in the WCC, but if we want to have championship expectations this year I don’t think it will be with him as our leading perimeter guy.

 

[Bonamassa]

Just a comment on Hurley doing a masterful job with marketing UConn men's bb. To have this much excitement and interest in the team in the middle of the summer is amazing. He's constantly keeping us in the news and showcasing why UConn is the best place for recruits and transfers to develop.

Agreed. UConn is like the NFL of college basketball. Year round fan interest and "sports page" front page news along with live interviews.

 

[AidanFan20]

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.

Film??? No, more like live games. But his shooting does worry me a bit. As mentioned earlier in this thread, he seems to have started "pushing" the shot with less spin... sometimes. Then again, sometimes he'll go 8 for 10 and score 25.

I also am not sure if he will be able to handle the increased athleticism at UConn, and their tougher opponents.

However, his hoop IQ is crazy good, and his attitude is terrific. He'll do everything in his power to raise his game.

Another thing asked earlier regarding how many years of eligibility he has... I don't know what exceptions there are anymore in the quagmire of eligibility rules, but I can say that he played two uninterrupted full seasons right out of high school for SMC, no redshirt season or anything like that.

 

[k-walk]

Not the best video quality but I edited out most of the dead space in my recordings. It's better than nothing imo.

 

[k-walk]

 

[uconnfan68]

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

Being asked to step in for an nba lottery pick as a freshman, and all you remember is bad news. I remember some serious dunks from offensive rebounds.

 

[Fan1978]

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

mahaney is a proven high D1 player, no worries here. meanwhile solo gets a pass on potential. let’s remember Mahaney is our guy now and not coming from Fairfield or Marist.

 

[uconnfan68]

Agreed, I think Cam made things look so easy that people seem to have similar expectations for Mahaney because they have similar play styles. But what Cam did was not normal.

Also Mahaney would have a much heavier load than Cam because he’s not playing with a Clingan in the paint, Newton next to him, and Castle after that.

He was really good in the WCC, but if we want to have championship expectations this year I don’t think it will be with him as our leading perimeter guy.

Really liked until the last paragraph. Let’s not get negative.

 

[Samoo]

...No reason to insult or feel insulted, you sound like a 5 year old throwing a fit or a Karen...

Love the lack of self awareness in this sentence

 

[DogMania]

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.

Now if I understand this right, it was "1" practice. How often have we all seen a game, and thought, "That player isn't very good" , or conversely, "Wow! That kid is a player!" Then after a half or whole season worth of games, the resume demonstrated otherwise.

My gosh! It was an open practice to see all the players, minus 1, and this thread has turned into a Mahaney Requiem.

He's learning a new system, and maybe he just had an off day. Give it a bunch of "real" games before we start drawing any conclusions on what we have with Mahaney and the rest of the team.

With that said, I loved reading most of the observations and wished I was there. There was a time when Hooper and I would sneak into Gampel and catch a closed practice...we had gotten to know a couple of the assistant coaches who would vouch for us so that we wouldn't get kicked out...and get a preseason look at the team. What we often saw those days wasn't always indictitve of how the team and players turned out through the balance of the upcoming season.

Granted this is a forum for opinions regardless if we agree with them or not, so let's give it some time and see if the Mahaney low bar projections or high bar ones turn out to be the case. Based on the little I know about him and his resume, I think he'll have some up and down games through the first half of the BE season as he adjusts to UConn's offensive and defensive schemes as well as the physicality of BE play, but will turn out to be an import part of our Three-peat success. Let's revisit this in 6 to 7 months from now when Aidan and his teammates have a solid body of work under their belts.

 

[Buzzyboy]

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

I'm kinda thinking that Hurley knows what he's doing and he just might not agree with your perceptions

 

[Chief00]

Agreed, I think Cam made things look so easy that people seem to have similar expectations for Mahaney because they have similar play styles. But what Cam did was not normal.

Also Mahaney would have a much heavier load than Cam because he’s not playing with a Clingan in the paint, Newton next to him, and Castle after that.

He was really good in the WCC, but if we want to have championship expectations this year I don’t think it will be with him as our leading perimeter guy.

Cam’s defense got him on the court and his offense built as the season went on.

 

[Chief00]

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.

We certainly can use another 3 point shooter. Mahaney might be able to do that. If one is thinking of having Mahaney fill Spencer’s role I honestly don’t see that happening in certain respects. Over-all he just doesn’t have Cam’s size, and Cam played against better competitition in the Big 10. Cam’s added size allowed him to have a mid range floater and the ability to switch on defense. If Manhaney can hit the 3 and distribute, and not hurt us on D, I would take that.
I also think we need to keep open minds about guys playing more than 1 position. Abraham and Ross both appear ready for playing time. Karaban and the guy from TX both could see some 2 guard time.

 

[3rdbass]

Not the best video quality but I edited out most of the dead space in my recordings. It's better than nothing imo.

Thanks for the highlights. I didn't recognized Jayden Ross wtihtout the hair. LOL! He was very active early on. We are loaded at the forward positions and it looks like Abraham can play right away and has a nice stroke. Also, Nowell impressed with ability to creat and score at the basket.

 

[Scottobot]

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.

Totally agree. He started for St Mary’s as a freshman and played against us in 2023 Tournament and lead St Mary’s in Scoring with 9 that game. that game was probably the toughest test and closest game Uconn had in the 2023 tournament. He played 36 minutes in that game.

Also think the misspelling of his name is odd, even after someone pointed it out.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

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.

Maybe they’re freshman gurus?