Open Practice 10/12 | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Open Practice 10/12

Stayed for about an hour. Some of the main things that stood out to me

-I don’t know how good Whaley will be, but in terms of progression from last season, he’s probably going to be the most improved player on the team. He just looks built and more like a basketball player. Had some nice moves in the paint. Coach Moore was on him to make sure he was being vocal and giving instructions to younger guys.

-CV gives 110% at all times. That’s nothing new though. Gonna miss him after this year, he really deserves a good UConn team to be on.

-Polley has tightened up his shooting form even more, should expect his 3 pt % and volume to go up this year I would think.

-Carlton has a really impressive touch around the basket. He should be a beast for us this year, just hoping he stays out of foul trouble. Like most have noted, he is noticeably bigger.

-Bouknight is going to be a stud on offense. I hate player comparisons, but he’s very reminiscent of Jeremy Lamb. He was noticeably lost on some of the defensive concepts, but that will come in time.

-Really unfortunate not to see Akok and Gaffney out there today. Was really looking forward to seeing those 2 specifically.

-Springs will be a very nice player for us, but it’s going to take a couple years of development to get there. Also, he has absolutely no left hand at the moment.

-Sid was very active, vocal and brought a great vibe to the practice. He could be a huge defensive player for us this year. Hurley was on him about some little things though.

-I was in the front row behind the basket- Tom Moore looked over to my friend and I as he was walking up to a drill with a foam pad for a post up/shooting still. He said “gonna hit these guys hard, except #3, still gotta be careful with the shoulder”

-Seth Greenberg stopped in my area for a chat. Very nice guy. Joked to Moore at one point to work on his upfake during a defensive drill.

Overall, Hurleys practices have a professional vibe to them. This program will be nationally competitive again. Just need to get the players up to the required level, it will still take some time.

The practice was very defense oriented (at least the first hour was). Hurley clearly wants to have the best defense in the country first and foremost.
 
RichZ said:
Geeeeezzzz. The walking wounded already? I know the concept of a completely injury free season is absurd, but still... ALREADY???
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Concerning because with kids with Akoks body type you always worry about injuries, particularly lower body problems.
 
Great Hurley quotes from today:

“You are so soft right now”

“We should be better at sprints cuz that’s all we do”

“You’re just trying to survive practice you’re not trying to get better!”

“Work Tyler! Stop trying to find the easy way out!”

“The lights are on it’s game time!”

“you are all just waiting around for CV to get a rebound because he led the team last year as a GUARD!”
 
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awfuldan said:
I’m here. Can confirm that Whaley looks big. Recruit sitting courtside with both parents, looks engaged. Bummed Akok and Gaffney aren’t in action.
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the recruit was on his phone most of the time. I stopped for a bite at wing stop afterwards. when I walked out I saw Tom Moore with the recruit and his parents riding in a golf cart. Must have been given him a tour.
 
UCfor3 said:
How did RJ Cole look? He can't play this year obviously but curious how he looked against our guards.
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Good question.
 
AG and Bouknight are the two most talented players. Best offensive lineup will be AG, CV, JB, TP and JC although against bigger/better teams will get hurt on D. Hopefully JG and Akok will help offensively because we look very similar to last year. I was very disappointed with Carlton thought he'd be a guy you could just dump the ball down and he'd make a nice low post move especially against our other bigs but he looked horrible hopefully he just had a really bad day. Team will play very hard and be scrappy in the ACK hopefully they can learn to win the close ones. RJ Cole looked decent he's small and not very athletic. He's crafty though with good handle but doesn't get much lift on his jumper. He will benefit greatly from battling with AG all year in practice.
 
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Vuce said:
You’re just trying to survive practice you’re not trying to get better!”
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That is a great line and important message to get across to teams trying to improve.

As JC would say, learn/know the difference between being there and accomplishing something.
 
MSGSeven said:
AG and Bouknight are the two most talented players. Best offensive lineup will be AG, CV, JB, TP and JC although against bigger/better teams will get hurt on D. Hopefully JG and Akok will help offensively because we look very similar to last year. I was very disappointed with Carlton thought he'd be a guy you could just dump the ball down and he'd make a nice low post move especially against our other bigs but he looked horrible hopefully he just had a really bad day. Team will play very hard and be scrappy in the ACK hopefully they can learn to win the close ones. RJ Cole looked decent he's small and not very athletic. He's crafty though with good handle but doesn't get much lift on his jumper. He will benefit greatly from battling with AG all year in practice.
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What do you mean by lift on his jumper? He doesn't jump? Or he isn't lifting his arm high enough for the release? I've heard it referred to both ways... just wanna clarify
 
husky429 said:
What do you mean by lift on his jumper? He doesn't jump? Or he isn't lifting his arm high enough for the release? I've heard it referred to both ways... just wanna clarify
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He wasn't getting off the ground much at all on his jumper today
 
MSGSeven said:
He wasn't getting off the ground much at all on his jumper today
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Ahh okay. I'd call that of minimal concern as long as his release is high. The best shooters don't really jump that much these days
 
Got there just before 2:00 and stayed til the end. Here are just a few more observations to add to what has already been said:

● Bouknight. He is going to be a big-time player. First part of practice I saw were half court 5-on-5 sets; Bouk was at the top of the key, jukes his guy, drives down the left side of the lane and puts in a beautiful, soft left hand layup off the glass - he got up HIGH. During the 3-pt shooting drill, his shot from the wing was good, less so from the baseline. They ended practice at the foul line. I think Bouknight swished every one of them.
● Gilbert looked solid if unspectacular. He tried dribbling through 2 defenders like he did numerous times last year; made a couple of deep threes during the halfcourt drills.
● Springs’ dunk on the fast break with Wilson defending was impressive! I was sitting 5 rows from the court and his slam over Wilson was what makes the nightly highlight reels on ESPN. This is no raw recruit that just started playing the game a few years ago.. Good hops, active, needs to work on his shot.
● Akok: He spent the practice on the sideline, so my one observation is that he has skinny legs - his thighs have no mass to them at all so he will be pushed around, I’m afraid.
● Polley’s shot looks better, and he even had a block on a fast break as he showed some hustle on defense. But still no rebounds...
● Whaley shot well, even threes, and defended Carlton well down low. He is going to earn minutes this year, possibly 15+ a game.
● During the 3-pt shooting drill, 8-10 players rotated taking shots, starting with the right baseline. The collective shooting was awful - maybe 15%. The next spot was the right wing, then left wing, and pct. was much improved. Onto the left baseline, and I actually tracked the shooting: 17 for 44, just under 40%. Sid needs to get much more arc in his shot. The best shooter were Cole, Whaley, and Vitale.
 
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MSGSeven said:
AG and Bouknight are the two most talented players. Best offensive lineup will be AG, CV, JB, TP and JC although against bigger/better teams will get hurt on D. Hopefully JG and Akok will help offensively because we look very similar to last year. I was very disappointed with Carlton thought he'd be a guy you could just dump the ball down and he'd make a nice low post move especially against our other bigs but he looked horrible hopefully he just had a really bad day. Team will play very hard and be scrappy in the ACK hopefully they can learn to win the close ones. RJ Cole looked decent he's small and not very athletic. He's crafty though with good handle but doesn't get much lift on his jumper. He will benefit greatly from battling with AG all year in practice.
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Can you please just spell out their names. I need a key to read some of these posts
 
Thanks everyone for the report-backs. Still not sure Whaley drilling 3s isn't some collective hallucination - gonna need to see that for myself! The Bouknight stuff is very exciting - I chuckled when I saw that he just retweeted this on Twitter:

Capture.PNG


Overall, sounds like Hurley is running efficient, strategic practices and the players are buying in. The vibes right now are good.
 
UCfor3 said:
How did RJ Cole look? He can't play this year obviously but curious how he looked against our guards.
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Cole looked undersized, like Al, but not nearly as skilled as Al. It also seemed like he deferred to Adams for bringing up the ball. I figured it was because he cant play this season, but Hurley semi called him out for it.

If Cole was our backup PG this year however, I would be thrilled. As is, if injury-prone Al goes down, it's CV or Adams playing PG. We need CV on the wing, and Adams can't handle the ball.
 
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GHSWolverines said:
the recruit was on his phone most of the time. I stopped for a bite at wing stop afterwards. when I walked out I saw Tom Moore with the recruit and his parents riding in a golf cart. Must have been given him a tour.
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Yeah, I was a bit dismayed to see him on his phone a whole bunch after I made that post. To be fair though, I think that’s par for the course with high schoolers these days.
 
Anyone have an idea of starting 5? I was there today and can't tell who it will be after Al, Vital, and Carleton. After those three, I like Polley and Whaley the most, but they are kind of the same player. My guess is it will be at least one of them in the starting 5, maybe both?
 
Was Gaffney on the sideline with a boot on today? When's that coming off?
 
bigknight3 said:
Hurley to the crowd after Bouknight's finger roll finish during 5v5 that the crowd reacting to:

"Stop ooh-ing when he scores, he's gotta play defense"
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lol
 
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