On to next year

[bendm]

I can’t harp enough on this but Akok was reason for this ,this year. His development has been such a mystery.

Akok?

I agree he was the missing piece but There’s no mystery as to why, it was the Achilles injury. Unfortunately Without his freak athleticism he just wasn’t an effective player anymore.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

I know you must be kidding because we need to bring in at least TWO transfers. Gaff, akok, and springs, in particular, have all been here 3+ years with very little to show for it. time to move on.

When have we ever done well with a transfer led squad. Develop the guys we have. Cole and Tyrese stepped up in a MAJOR way this year when the reigns were given to them. I’m hopeful next years squad can do the same thing. Akok getting consistent time to play through mistakes as a stretch 4 can do wonders.

Some really underestimate how guys play when they aren’t on a short leash. It’s really hard to play freely when you feel like one mistake can get you pulled and limit your playing time. Being able to learn and play through your mistakes is important.

Calhoun mastered when to let guys do that and when to pull them though.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

AS seems like a player who puts up stats but limits the team upside. All Big East stats but doesn’t do the little things to make the team better due to limited BBIQ.

definately In the pros, but even in college, it’s generally not a winning proposition to build your offense around a center.

He should spend all off-season learning how to read defenses that attack him. If he can become a good passer who can read a defense he would be deadly.

 

[Apollo]

Do they have to order new “47:10” posters, or can they just use last year’s?

 

[bendm]

When have we ever done well with a transfer led squad. Develop the guys we have. Cole and Tyrese stepped up in a MAJOR way this year when the reigns were given to them

Didn’t you just answer your own question?

 

[gsmooth]

We had nobody this year who can get their own shot. Never seen anything like that from a UConn team. Even the Ollie era had a Jalen Adam’s. Incredible to think we were a 5 seed with such a bad offensive roster.

Oh jalen adams was a baller. He would easily be the best player on this team

 

[GHSWolverines]

Start recruiting plauers who know how to shoot,

I hope Hawkins majes a huge leap! Not only as a shooter but as a creater as well. Otherwise we may be doomed next year.

 

[GHSWolverines]

When have we ever done well with a transfer led squad. Develop the guys we have. Cole and Tyrese stepped up in a MAJOR way this year when the reigns were given to them. I’m hopeful next years squad can do the same thing. Akok getting consistent time to play through mistakes as a stretch 4 can do wonders.

Some really underestimate how guys play when they aren’t on a short leash. It’s really hard to play freely when you feel like one mistake can get you pulled and limit your playing time. Being able to learn and play through your mistakes is important.

Calhoun mastered when to let guys do that and when to pull them though.

Cole and Martin

 

[Banta55]

We don't know but they should be better. If we don't make the tournament next year we might be looking around for another coach.

We don't know but they should be better. If we don't make the tournament next year we might be looking around for another coach.

No chance of moving on from him next year..Everyone needs to take a deep breath .

 

[Lefty2one]

As point guard continues to be an afterthought for Hurley, we are going to struggle. I wouldn't be surprised if we're a bubble team unless a couple of the young guys take a leap forward. If we can't find a solid PG in the transfer portal, the season could get ugly.

PG: Transfer/Diggins/Gaffney
SG: Hawkins/Floyd
SF: Jackson
PF: Samson/Akok/Karaban
C: Sanogo/Clingan

We're going to be an inexperienced team. Jackson and Sanogo will be the only ones with significant experience. At least we should be able to space the floor better and give Sanogo more room to operate. I don't see much production coming from Clingan or Karaban but I'm excited about Samson and I think Floyd will be a shot in the arm for this team. I don't love that Jackson is the only wing. Teams with a couple of 6'6" strong SFs will be a bad matchup for us.

 

[navery12]

As point guard continues to be an afterthought for Hurley, we are going to struggle. I wouldn't be surprised if we're a bubble team unless a couple of the young guys take a leap forward. If we can't find a solid PG in the transfer portal, the season could get ugly.

PG: Transfer/Diggins/Gaffney
SG: Hawkins/Floyd
SF: Jackson
PF: Samson/Akok/Karaban
C: Sanogo/Clingan

We're going to be an inexperienced team. Jackson and Sanogo will be the only ones with significant experience. At least we should be able to space the floor better and give Sanogo more room to operate. I don't see much production coming from Clingan or Karaban but I'm excited about Samson and I think Floyd will be a shot in the arm for this team. I don't love that Jackson is the only wing. Teams with a couple of 6'6" strong SFs will be a bad matchup for us.

I think Karaban will also play on the wing, he'll get minutes as a 3. But in either case, that's an 11 man team you listed so would still have 2 scholarships to bring in transfer wings to help immediately

 

[Fairfield_1st]

We had nobody this year who can get their own shot.

That's a bit much. Cole did it all season long.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

Also, I do NOT want to bring in a transfer. Develop the talented players that we have dammit. Why even recruit guys if we’re just going to bring in transfers to play over them.

I appreciate the sentiment, but when there are holes you have to plug them. Recruiting isn't an exact science, especially when watching high school games and you have highly skilled players versus filler. AAU should help with that, but having never seen an AAU, game I don't know if they play legit basketball or if it looks like an NBA all star game.

 

[gtcam]

Whaley playing out of position points to a bigger picture of stubbornness of our coach. It was clear as day from day 1 that Whaley and Sanogo are both 5s. He forced a round peg through a square hole. If he recognized it earlier and developed better chemistry with our lineups he would put them in a better position to succeed.

Sanogo is no more a 5 than my 8 yo grandson
He better develop a midrange game in a damn hurry or his basketball career ends after UConn
Next years team is going to miss IW tremendously

 

[Phoenixhusky]

That's a bit much. Cole did it all season long.

Cole did a good job getting his own shot.

 

[weyuo]

This was a good team that needed one more starting guard. A Shabbaz type that could play good D, bring the ball up the court and give you a consistent 10+ points a game. Gafney is NOT the answer and I doubt he ever will be. Too slow, not a 3-pt threat, is unsure of what to do out there. And there was no one else on the bench that could run point and/or play lockdown D. So if Cole doesn't come back they need to find/develop two starting point guards that can play D and score at least 10 a game. I have faith Hawkins will get better and be that Ray Allen type of shooter this team sorely needs. But he needs to be able to play D and rebound. Jackson will most likely slide into Whalley's spot. Akok needs to add some weight and continue to work on his shot. If Cole and Martin come back that would be awesome but Cole needs another guard with him on the court and a reliable backup so he can get some rest. Martin just needs to stay healthy and work on his 3-pt shot. The reason why they lost to NM St? Cole was chased around and harassed the whole game and there was no one else on the court to help him or take the pressure off him. Bottom line: This year's team was one starting guard short.

GO HUSKIES!!

 

[Irishboy9780]

If we hand off the team to the kids and get them the experience then the reasonable expectation is a regression to not making the NCCAT. If Cole stays (which i'm doubting) and they hit the portal, sure they can have a similar team to this year, but what has that gotten us?

I don't make the choices obviously but i give Hurley this coming season and the next, if we don't atleast get to a sweet 16 in that time or show some massive improvement he needs to go.

 

[Yankees32123]

People are sleeping on Karaban. By the end of next year, I think our lineup includes a grad transfer/sharpshooting PG, Jordan Hawkins, Andre Jackson, Alex Karaban and Adama Sanogo, with Gaffney, Diggins, Akok and Samson coming off the bench. I think Clingan will contribute as much next year as Samson did this year.

If Cole comes back, that obviously solves the PG problem.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Lack of experience at the point will be tough if we don't get Cole back or add a transfer PG. But with experienced and strong offensive options in Sanogo, Hawkins, and Jackson (maybe not offense) that can make up for some of the PG dropoff.

Realistically, if we can get someone akin to Taliek Brown to run the point - strong and effective ballhandler and offensive general who doesn't need to score - we can be successful. Much will ride on the progress of Hawkins, Jackson, and the freshmen. With Sanogo at least we won't be completely reliant on that group.

 

[yungdowork]

Hurley has no choice but to give some of the young guys more responsibility next season. I'm really hoping that we schedule a tougher out of conference schedule next year to give the team some early season challenges and help them work out the kinks. Given how many minutes our freshmen played, big game experience will be huge heading into Big East play. I have faith that Diggins and Floyd can play some big minutes in the backcourt, but they'll undoubtedly make some big mistakes figuring out how to play at this level.

Grabbing another ballhandler in the portal would help us big time, but I think guys who have the tools are on the roster. Creighton and Seton Hall both lost their starting PGs and had combo guards running the offense with decent success. We have the talent, we've been recruiting well; now we just need the guys we went after to be ready to step up.

 

[JMick]

We don't know but they should be better. If we don't make the tournament next year we might be looking around for another coach.

Hurley will be on the hot seat this time next year. Book it. He's not the guy

 

[OkaForPrez]

Defense first guys. Whaley played out of position because of his ability to guard all 5.

That’s our identity. Defense, rebounding, toughness.

The guys who give you that play, even when it chokes out the offense. You can disagree with that approach but it’s the one Dan Hurley takes.

Let’s see what that approach looks like as we cycle through our high major talent pipeline. I am excited about the Sanogo Jackson class as juniors and I’m excited about Hawkins as a sophomore. He was just figuring it out when he went down.

 

[Huskymagic]

Hurley will be on the hot seat this time next year. Book it. He's not the guy

After getting embarrassed by NMSU after last year's debacle to Maryland that's pretty much confirmed. Shrinks when the lights are bright. He's a deer in headlights. Doesn't react well and there is no strategy on beating opponents other than to out-hustle them.

Next year's team looks worse unless we find some perimeter knock-down shooters. I would start Andre as point guard as I doubt Hurley can find someone better than Andre to run point for next year. It also would be good for AJacks and the team for him to run point.

Karaban could be an X-factor if he can shoot well and play big minutes right away. We need to look for an elite shooter and an extra point guard who can play regardless.

 

[Orc]

This has to be the most offensively inept team we had in awhile. Hurley was kind of forced to play experienced guys that couldn’t play well together because of fit. I’m excited to see what his defense can do with guys who can actually score the ball like Hawkins and hopefully Jackson can step up this off-season.

Cole, Tyrese, and Polley we’re good for what they did. But too many limitations. Whaley was just playing out of position.

Offensively challenged like some experts would say. Always prone to scoring droughts. The same thing will happen in the tourney next year if we don’t get more scorers

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Didn’t you just answer your own question?

If you call a 1st round exit after getting upset by a 12 seed doing well, then we have different expectations.