Olander...

[UconnFanInNYC]

...will be the key to busting the zone. If he can hit that foul line jumper consistently, then we will be tough to beat.

Lamb, Bazz, Boat on the wings. Drummond or AO running the baseline and Tyler curling and popping to the foul line...damn.

 

[Peacefrog]

Agreed. The Arkansas Olander would be a great asset, particularly against zones. The FSU Olander, not so much.

 

[huskyharry]

Great game for TO today...excellent shooting, good passing, good screening, solid rebounding

 

[Scot-e]

I love that TO can hit that mid range jumper and has really improved from last year- but honestly if he is playing more then 15 minutes a game it is not the best case senerio for us.

 

[Northbound]

It's a nice addition to his game for sure. If he's able to step our and hit that consistently, he's got to be respected which can pull folks away from the lane and any space in the lane should be able to be exploited by Bazz & Boat. Clearly we can finish in the lane in traffic, but opening that up a bit won't hurt. TO not only has improved his game, but he continues to give the team intangibles that he brought last year.

 

[imno1]

I love that TO can hit that mid range jumper and has really improved from last year- but honestly if he is playing more then 15 minutes a game it is not the best case senerio for us.

I disagree. TO has earned his playing time. He will be even more effective as he gains more confidence and experience.

 

[bobbygt]

I disagree. TO has earned his playing time. He will be even more effective as he gains more confidence and experience.

+1. TO is just a solid player. Outside of the guards, he's the only one with ANY offensive repertoire right now. Roscoe is lost, DD is passive now, AO still can't seem to make shots close to the basket, and AD really can't do much on offense.

 

[DMW88]

I agree TO has earned his minutes...he gives us that big that can shoot the midrange which keeps the defense honest...

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Offensively, Olander reminds me of a tougher, less whiny, but also less athletic version of Travis Knight. Olander will never be the offensive player that Knight was, but he can play a similar role in terms of pulling the opposing big man out of the middle with TO's mid-range jumper and be a good passer. Knight was faster and a better finisher than Olander will ever be, but Olander can still be solid in the break. On the other hand, Olander is tougher on D and doesn't piss off officials like Knight used to with his endless whining.

 

[bobbygt]

I also think TO has a little Bill Curley in him.

 

[mauconnfan]

Offensively, Olander reminds me of a tougher, less whiny, but also less athletic version of Travis Knight. Olander will never be the offensive player that Knight was, but he can play a similar role in terms of pulling the opposing big man out of the middle with TO's mid-range jumper and be a good passer. Knight was faster and a better finisher than Olander will ever be, but Olander can still be solid in the break. On the other hand, Olander is tougher on D and doesn't piss off officials like Knight used to with his endless whining.

If he could be 75% the player Travis was we'll be fine. Underrated 7 foot athlete for sure!!

 

[upstater]

It's early in the season, I like Tyler, but we saw Oriakhi step out and pop one a few times, and I actually thought Alex's form looked better than Tyler's when shooting from the line.

Roscoe has difficulty driving. He should only be looking for 3s and alley-oops and putbacks at this point, and then work on his handle more.

DD simply needs to get a little more pissed. You can tell on his drives that he is a little hesitant.

It's really too early to tell what the rotation will be. I only know the 3 guards will be eating a lot of minutes. Olander, Drummond, Oriakhi, Roscoe, Daniels and Giffey are splitting 100 minutes. That's 6 guys. Maybe Daniels and Giffey will see some more time, but things are very tight in the front court.

 

[Rico444]

I agree with the OP 100%. TO should be in the lineup most of the time against the zone. Give him the ball in the middle of the zone, and either let him shoot, or have him pass to Drummond or oriakhi if a big comes out on him.

 

[Stinger92860]

...will be the key to busting the zone. If he can hit that foul line jumper consistently, then we will be tough to beat.

Lamb, Bazz, Boat on the wings. Drummond or AO running the baseline and Tyler curling and popping to the foul line...damn.

He can also turn to face the basket, protect the ball, find the cutter or pass it back. For the most part he is making very good decisions in that position on the floor. We have not had that in a while.

 

[Stinger92860]

I also think TO has a little Bill Curley in him.

Good analogy! However, he is missing that snarl/chippiness.

 

[CL82]

I wonder how high his ceiling will be. He clearly put the work needed over the summer to jump his game up a few levels. That kind of player keeps on getting better. He can still add a lot of bulk. I love his play this year but the kid is going to be a beast as a upper classman.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

...will be the key to busting the zone. If he can hit that foul line jumper consistently, then we will be tough to beat.

Lamb, Bazz, Boat on the wings. Drummond or AO running the baseline and Tyler curling and popping to the foul line...damn.

i guess u didnt watch the Cuse BE tournament game last season

 

[Tenspro2002]

I wonder how high his ceiling will be. He clearly put the work needed over the summer to jump his game up a few levels. That kind of player keeps on getting better. He can still add a lot of bulk. I love his play this year but the kid is going to be a beast as a upper classman.

The thing he needs to work on is his strength around the rim, on both ends. He has the toughness and the desire to play in the post, but he frequently looks to be getting outmuscled/outjumped on rebounds and he has a tendency to get his shot blocked in close. That's the only thing preventing him from being a legitimate, 30-35 minute starter at the 4. Amazingly, he could get there by next year.

 

[Kitaman]

Our PF position is set for this and the next 2 seasons. Tyler will be a handful his senior year.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

i guess u didnt watch the Cuse BE tournament game last season

Was going to say the same thing. May have been Tyler's best game last year in a big spot.

 

[Mr.Phat]

I love that TO can hit that mid range jumper and has really improved from last year- but honestly if he is playing more then 15 minutes a game it is not the best case senerio for us.

Unless the defenses UConn faces are zone - which every UConn team I can remember has had problems with. Olander seems to have figured out how to attack zone defense and Boatright will too. Not likely to face many zones all year except for ACCuse. And Arkansas didn't play it very long. If Olander keeps attacking the middle of the zone and either consistently makes the soft jumper or draws defenders away from the basket in order to pass to a player making a baseline cut, he should get all the minutes he can handle when UConn faces this defensive scheme because jacking threes over the top of the zone doesn't seem to work too well.