Official practice getting started

[Onions]

I think we will for a couple of reasons. One we have more athletes out there to throw at people in a rotation. Bigger guys too. Hurley can finally yank anybody taking a play off and sit him on the bench knowing we have depth. Secondly, shot blocking. Carlton really improved late last year, Sid is strong in week side shot blocking and Akok could be a real force. So when guys do get by our perimeter defenders, we now have rim protectors. We have to stop over helping and leaving bigs open. I think Adams will emerge as a Lyman Depriest type player, maybe not quite that good on D, but a guy who can guard a lot of positions.

I think this team is going to be a major upside surprise. We have four new players. Three should be impact freshmen. We have experience, with a senior and 3 juniors who all saw a lot of minutes. Carlton is going to be hard to stop inside, and when they double him, Akok and or Polley is going to make them pay. Everyone is worried about guys creating shots, and while we need that, this team is going to score in transition and with an inside out game.

This year it's addition by subtraction - Cobb, Williams and Yakwe would have no chance to make this team.

 

[intlzncster]

I think we will for a couple of reasons. One we have more athletes out there to throw at people in a rotation. Bigger guys too. Hurley can finally yank anybody taking a play off and sit him on the bench knowing we have depth.

I mean, we have an extra quality guy from last year in Akok, which is big. We lost Cobb (not important in and of itself), and gain Springs, who's probably not ready.

But you pull Akok or Carlton (or have foul trouble), and you are going to Whaley. Polley some at the 4, but that's not ideal, especially on the boards.

I think this team is going to be a major upside surprise. We have four new players. Three should be impact freshmen. We have experience, with a senior and 3 juniors who all saw a lot of minutes. Carlton is going to be hard to stop inside, and when they double him, Akok and or Polley is going to make them pay. Everyone is worried about guys creating shots, and while we need that, this team is going to score in transition and with an inside out game.

I think this bit is optimistic. These kids have a lot of potential, but they obviously aren't true top 20 impact freshman. They'll get PT on this team because we don't have many good options.

I'm hoping they come around in the last third of the season. I'm expecting them to be up and down freshman the first half, then maybe hit a wall, then hopefully come into their own.

That said, Akok's defensive/rebounding skills down low should be an immediate impact from the jump. But I don't think his 3pt shooting will translate right away, as it doesn't seem to be quite as developed yet (according to people who watched him) as everyone is hoping.

 

[pj]

We lost Cobb (not important in and of itself), and gain Springs, who's probably not ready.

Don't underestimate what Springs adds to the team. Compared to Cobb, the extra 3" of length and 20 IQ points will make a big difference.

 

[superjohn]

I mean, we have an extra quality guy from last year in Akok, which is big. We lost Cobb (not important in and of itself), and gain Springs, who's probably not ready.

But you pull Akok or Carlton (or have foul trouble), and you are going to Whaley. Polley some at the 4, but that's not ideal, especially on the boards.



I think this bit is optimistic. These kids have a lot of potential, but they obviously aren't true top 20 impact freshman. They'll get PT on this team because we don't have many good options.

I'm hoping they come around in the last third of the season. I'm expecting them to be up and down freshman the first half, then maybe hit a wall, then hopefully come into there own.

That said, Akok's defensive/rebounding skills down low should translate right away. But I don't think his 3pt shooting will translate right away, as it doesn't seem to be quite as developed yet (according to people who watched him) as everyone is hoping.

I don't see how it's an optimistic take saying Akok, Bouknight, and Gaffney will be impacts on this team. The three of them are going to play a lot and are an upgrade in talent, Akok and Bouk have a good chance at being starters this season.

 

[intlzncster]

I don't see how it's an optimistic take saying Akok, Bouknight, and Gaffney will be impacts on this team. The three of them are going to play a lot and are an upgrade in talent, Akok and Bouk have a good chance at being starters this season.

When I think of impact players, I'm thinking of dominant players. I might have misinterpreted his intent. That said, being an impact player on this particular team isn't necessarily saying a lot. We stunk last year.

I would call them contributing players. Freshman Shabazz Napier or Kemba Walker types. And those two ended up being some of our best ever.

Akok will help tremendously on the defensive side. But these kids will be up and down for a while. And they do not have a Jr Kemba or Sr Shabazz type to lean on. Hopefully Gilbert steps up this year.

 

[HuskyHawk]

When I think of impact players, I'm thinking of dominant players. I might have misinterpreted his intent. That said, being an impact player on this particular team isn't necessarily saying a lot. We stunk last year.

I would call them contributing players. Freshman Shabazz Napier or Kemba Walker types. And those two ended up being some of our best ever.

Akok will help tremendously on the defensive side. But these kids will be up and down for a while. And they do not have a Jr Kemba or Sr Shabazz type to lean on. Hopefully Gilbert steps up this year.

Dominant players as freshmen. UConn has had what, 2-3 of those ever? That’s not what I mean. The average ncaa bubble team has zero dominant players at all.

Our overall talent level is up significantly. And yet we aren’t young. We can roll out a lineup of all experienced juniors and seniors if we need to. And yes, I expect Gilbert, Carlton, Polley and Vital to all be improved. Probably Sid and Adams too.

And you mentioned going to Whaley if we lose Carlton and Akok to fouls. Sure. And he’s 225 pounds of muscle heavier now. And we also have Springs. So I’m not sure that’s a bad situation. Polley will play a bunch at the 4 anyway. Whaley was always good on the boards, now he can hold ground on D as well.

 

[intlzncster]

Dominant players as freshmen. UConn has had what, 2-3 of those ever? That’s not what I mean. The average ncaa bubble team has zero dominant players at all.

Our overall talent level is up significantly. And yet we aren’t young. We can roll out a lineup of all experienced juniors and seniors if we need to. And yes, I expect Gilbert, Carlton, Polley and Vital to all be improved. Probably Sid and Adams too.

And you mentioned going to Whaley if we lose Carlton and Akok to fouls. Sure. And he’s 225 pounds of muscle heavier now. And we also have Springs. So I’m not sure that’s a bad situation. Polley will play a bunch at the 4 anyway. Whaley was always good on the boards, now he can hold ground on D as well.

I agree with much of what your saying. Definitely more talent than last year. But remember, we were 9th in the AAC last year. That's our starting point.

I guess then it comes down to what you mean by "major upside surprise". 20 wins? To win the league, we'd need to have an all time turnaround.

If we win 20 games, I'll be pretty happy.

 

[superjohn]

When I think of impact players, I'm thinking of dominant players. I might have misinterpreted his intent. That said, being an impact player on this particular team isn't necessarily saying a lot. We stunk last year.

I would call them contributing players. Freshman Shabazz Napier or Kemba Walker types. And those two ended up being some of our best ever.

Akok will help tremendously on the defensive side. But these kids will be up and down for a while. And they do not have a Jr Kemba or Sr Shabazz type to lean on. Hopefully Gilbert steps up this year.

I think he would have said dominant if he meant dominant. Kemba and Bazz had impacts as freshmen but weren't dominant and there are tons of other freshmen who had an impact. It's college basketball, every team has impact freshmen.

 

[intlzncster]

I think he would have said dominant if he meant dominant. Kemba and Bazz had impacts as freshmen but weren't dominant and there are tons of other freshmen who had an impact. It's college basketball, every team has impact freshmen.

Well, then that just means they can contribute a bit, OK. Doesn't say much. On a bad team, that would just mean the freshmen aren't quite as bad (not saying that's us).

 

[superjohn]

Well, then that just means they can contribute a bit, OK. Doesn't say much. On a bad team, that would just mean the freshmen aren't quite as bad (not saying that's us).

This isn't difficult, we've been lacking talent. We brought in better talent with this freshman class, they are going to contribute a lot this year to the success of our team. Nobody thinks they are going to dominate, don't know why you thought he was saying that.

 

[intlzncster]

This isn't difficult, we've been lacking talent. We brought in better talent with this freshman class, they are going to contribute a lot this year to the success of our team. Nobody thinks they are going to dominate, don't know why you thought he was saying that.

I understand what you are saying, but he was talking about it in the context of "I think this team is going to be a major upside surprise". Which is why I thought he was talking about real impact players. I disagreed with that notion.

Because I think there will be more ups and downs than most. For instance, there will be a bunch of games where Akok barely plays due to foul trouble. There will be games where James is asleep. etc etc

I think the freshman will help and I'm excited for the season. I don't think they're a tournament team and I don't think we're winning the AAC. I don't see that 'major upside surprise' in relation to freshman impact or returning experience.

jmo tho

 

[BNich]

Let's Go!!!!!

 

[HuskyHawk]

I agree with much of what your saying. Definitely more talent than last year. But remember, we were 9th in the AAC last year. That's our starting point.

I guess then it comes down to what you mean by "major upside surprise". 20 wins? To win the league, we'd need to have an all time turnaround.

If we win 20 games, I'll be pretty happy.

You have to look beyond the record. We were 16-17. We lost our backup center for the season early on. We lost our power forward for the year. Those were our two most physical players. We lost Gilbert for a significant stretch and he wasn't 100% early on. We lost Jalen for a long stretch and while he returned, he was not close to 100% when he did. We played several games with no PG at all.

Despite all that we had close losses to Arizona and #11 Florida State. The OT loss @ Cinci came on a bad call and brain fart. Lost to WSU by 2 on the road.

From a talent perspective, minus the injuries, that was a 20 win team last year. This team is quite a bit better than last year's team, if healthy. I can see 23-24 wins potentially. Much does depend on the freshmen playing meaningful minutes and AG staying on the court. But we have depth for the first time in four years.

 

[intlzncster]

You have to look beyond the record. We were 16-17. We lost our backup center for the season early on. We lost our power forward for the year. Those were our two most physical players. We lost Gilbert for a significant stretch and he wasn't 100% early on. We lost Jalen for a long stretch and while he returned, he was not close to 100% when he did. We played several games with no PG at all.

Despite all that we had close losses to Arizona and #11 Florida State. The OT loss @ Cinci came on a bad call and brain fart. Lost to WSU by 2 on the road.

From a talent perspective, minus the injuries, that was a 20 win team last year. This team is quite a bit better than last year's team, if healthy. I can see 23-24 wins potentially. Much does depend on the freshmen playing meaningful minutes and AG staying on the court. But we have depth for the first time in four years.

Yes, there were definitely significant extenuating circumstances, but I also saw a team that struggled defensively (both team and individual) and couldn't generate much offense.

The second and third best teams in the AAC last year were in that 23/24 win bucket. I'll be surprised but happy to eat crow if we are a top 4 team in the conference and at-large tourney bid. I'm just not seeing it yet.

Some of it's going to depend on how quickly we gel in the first half of the season (as always). I also think we are very thin down low next year in terms of developed talent. Weathering foul trouble will be a problematic indeed.

 

[gtcam]

Yes, there were definitely significant extenuating circumstances, but I also saw a team that struggled defensively (both team and individual) and couldn't generate much offense.

The second and third best teams in the AAC last year were in that 23/24 win bucket. I'll be surprised but happy to eat crow if we are a top 4 team in the conference and at-large tourney bid. I'm just not seeing it yet.

Some of it's going to depend on how quickly we gel in the first half of the season (as always). I also think we are very thin down low next year in terms of developed talent. Weathering foul trouble will be a problematic indeed.

Lets see how they do vs the Wagners, Maine, Stony Brooks, etc early in the season - That's been a really good bellwether in recent seasons

 

[ctchamps]

You have to look beyond the record. We were 16-17. We lost our backup center for the season early on. We lost our power forward for the year. Those were our two most physical players. We lost Gilbert for a significant stretch and he wasn't 100% early on. We lost Jalen for a long stretch and while he returned, he was not close to 100% when he did. We played several games with no PG at all.

Despite all that we had close losses to Arizona and #11 Florida State. The OT loss @ Cinci came on a bad call and brain fart. Lost to WSU by 2 on the road.

From a talent perspective, minus the injuries, that was a 20 win team last year. This team is quite a bit better than last year's team, if healthy. I can see 23-24 wins potentially. Much does depend on the freshmen playing meaningful minutes and AG staying on the court. But we have depth for the first time in four years.

People underestimate the loss of Yakwe. It has to be that people undervalue good defense compared to good offense.

Steve Enoch was a liability on defense but an all pro compared to Cobb. There were moments Eric helped more than hurt but they were too few.

If there are no injuries the front court is a significant upgrade over last season. My reservation is the backcourt.

I’m cautiously optimistic with the upgrade in talent with Gaffney and Bouknight. But they are freshmen. Jalen may not have carried the short handed teams to victories like Kemba but he was still the best player on the team by a lot. Tarin was not the talent we hope Gaffney to be but he had experience.

The keys for the backcourt:

Al not only has to stay healthy but needs to be significantly better than he was last season. It’s a reasonable expectation but far from a given.

CV needs to repeat his performance from last season.

Gaffney, Bouknight and Brendan have to make up for the production loss of Jalen that Al can’t accomplish.

And most important someone needs to provide Smith type minutes to run point when Al is sitting. I’m most nervous about this.

 

[superjohn]

People underestimate the loss of Yakwe. It has to be that people undervalue good defense compared to good offense.

Steve Enoch was a liability on defense but an all pro compared to Cobb. There were moments Eric helped more than hurt but they were too few.

If there are no injuries the front court is a significant upgrade over last season. My reservation is the backcourt.

I’m cautiously optimistic with the upgrade in talent with Gaffney and Bouknight. But they are freshmen. Jalen may not have carried the short handed teams to victories like Kemba but he was still the best player on the team by a lot. Tarin was not the talent we hope Gaffney to be but he had experience.

The keys for the backcourt:

Al not only has to stay healthy but needs to be significantly better than he was last season. It’s a reasonable expectation but far from a given.

CV needs to repeat his performance from last season.

Gaffney, Bouknight and Brendan have to make up for the production loss of Jalen that Al can’t accomplish.

And most important someone needs to provide Smith type minutes to run point when Al is sitting. I’m most nervous about this.

Yakwe played in a dozen games and averaged 2 points and 2 rebounds. Nice kid and played hard but if we're relying on a player like him we're in big trouble, I hope and think those days are past us.

 

[intlzncster]

Lets see how they do vs the Wagners, Maine, Stony Brooks, etc early in the season - That's been a really good bellwether in recent seasons

Need to start blowing these teams out. Though with so many young pieces, there will be still some scuffling.

 

[Edward Sargent]

People underestimate the loss of Yakwe. It has to be that people undervalue good defense compared to good offense.

Steve Enoch was a liability on defense but an all pro compared to Cobb. There were moments Eric helped more than hurt but they were too few.

If there are no injuries the front court is a significant upgrade over last season. My reservation is the backcourt.

I’m cautiously optimistic with the upgrade in talent with Gaffney and Bouknight. But they are freshmen. Jalen may not have carried the short handed teams to victories like Kemba but he was still the best player on the team by a lot. Tarin was not the talent we hope Gaffney to be but he had experience.

The keys for the backcourt:

Al not only has to stay healthy but needs to be significantly better than he was last season. It’s a reasonable expectation but far from a given.

CV needs to repeat his performance from last season.

Gaffney, Bouknight and Brendan have to make up for the production loss of Jalen that Al can’t accomplish.

And most important someone needs to provide Smith type minutes to run point when Al is sitting. I’m most nervous about this.

Yakwe hardly played

 

[ctchamps]

Yakwe played in a dozen games and averaged 2 points and 2 rebounds. Nice kid and played hard but if we're relying on a player like him we're in big trouble, I hope and think those days are past us.

His defense was significantly better than Cobb’s. He was injured all summer and couldn’t practice with the team. Started the season injured. He played injured. And in spite of all this I would have preferred him as the backup over Cobb. That’s the only point I was making. If you read the next paragraph I indicated there is a significant upgrade in talent in the front court. I would never state otherwise even if Yakwe stayed healthy and obtained his maximum potential.

But most fans would disagree with me arguing Cobb was a better player than Yakwe.

I think a chair would play better defense than Cobb. He was at a minimum a two for one guy. For every point he made he gave up double the following set of plays.

 

[ctchamps]

Yakwe hardly played

Pickings were slim when Hurley recruited him . It was known he was injured and there were no guarantees he would fully recover. The few games where he lost his rust and appeared healthy demonstrated to me he was better for the team than Eric.

 

[HuskyHawk]

People underestimate the loss of Yakwe. It has to be that people undervalue good defense compared to good offense.

Steve Enoch was a liability on defense but an all pro compared to Cobb. There were moments Eric helped more than hurt but they were too few.

If there are no injuries the front court is a significant upgrade over last season. My reservation is the backcourt.

I’m cautiously optimistic with the upgrade in talent with Gaffney and Bouknight. But they are freshmen. Jalen may not have carried the short handed teams to victories like Kemba but he was still the best player on the team by a lot. Tarin was not the talent we hope Gaffney to be but he had experience.

The keys for the backcourt:

Al not only has to stay healthy but needs to be significantly better than he was last season. It’s a reasonable expectation but far from a given.

CV needs to repeat his performance from last season.

Gaffney, Bouknight and Brendan have to make up for the production loss of Jalen that Al can’t accomplish.

And most important someone needs to provide Smith type minutes to run point when Al is sitting. I’m most nervous about this.

Yawke was beginning to play well right when he went out.

I'm less worried about the backcourt. I don't think Jalen and Gilbert ever paired well together. Jalen was never good off the ball. He creates off the dribble. He's not a strong catch and shoot 3 point shooter. Gilbert was a little better playing off the ball, but that's not his strength either.

One of my reasons for optimism is that we finally have a basketball team constructed in a way that makes sense. Look at the lineups. Even if you go to backups we had guys playing positions they were not equipped to play or defend effectively. We are now much better equipped to match up with our opponents. Look at a guy like Aubrey Dawkins at 6'6". Who did we have to defend him? Vital? Who was able to guard Yetna at USF? Polley? We faced so many mismatches all over.

2018
1. PG
2. PG
3. Small SG
4. Big wing
5. Center

2019
1. PG
2. SG
3. SF or big wing
4. PF
5. Center

 

[ctchamps]

Yawke was beginning to play well right when he went out.

I'm less worried about the backcourt. I don't think Jalen and Gilbert ever paired well together. Jalen was never good off the ball. He creates off the dribble. He's not a strong catch and shoot 3 point shooter. Gilbert was a little better playing off the ball, but that's not his strength either.

One of my reasons for optimism is that we finally have a basketball team constructed in a way that makes sense. Look at the lineups. Even if you go to backups we had guys playing positions they were not equipped to play or defend effectively. We are now much better equipped to match up with our opponents. Look at a guy like Aubrey Dawkins at 6'6". Who did we have to defend him? Vital? Who was able to guard Yetna at USF? Polley? We faced so many mismatches all over.

2018
1. PG
2. PG
3. Small SG
4. Big wing
5. Center

2019
1. PG
2. SG
3. SF or big wing
4. PF
5. Center

Totally agree that the pairing of AG and JA was not ideal. The biggest issue for me is AG. Can he stay healthy. Will he be more effective than last season? He has to be. Will he find a player he works well with other than CV?

But none of that compares to who do you have coming in for him when he's on the bench? We haven't had a freshman pg that was capable of running the show since Khalid imo. Freshman Kemba maybe came close when he was needed but his sophomore year demonstrated we were lucky we didn't need him as the primary option the year before. We have two big uncertainties in Gaffney and Brendan.

Totally agree we have a lot more options to match up with opposing teams. Everything depends how quickly key components develop.

 

[Horatio]

Yakwe played in a dozen games and averaged 2 points and 2 rebounds. Nice kid and played hard but if we're relying on a player like him we're in big trouble, I hope and think those days are past us.

Yeah, Yakwe would’ve benefited from playing a year behind our other elite big ,David Onuorah