Open Practice

[Kitaman]

I hope this was very early and there’s a lot more people there. Otherwise they should have “opened” it. I know I would’ve been there.

Remember Mau, its more than they are used to for practice.

If they're anything like I was, its really the female fans that really count.

 

[Kitaman]

Total dick comment by RJ saying blue team should he beating white team.

"That's the depth that we have on our team," said Cole when asked about the White team winning. "That goes to show we're a very talented team and it's not always going to be the Blue team beating the White team, as much as we should be beating them. They're talented as well. It's not going to be a cakewalk."

Chin he's just 'a kid' saying something without thinking it through (i.e. us vs them).

If I were Hurley, I'd put him on the White team for the next scrimmage.

 

[husky429]

Not really. They were a group chirping last week that a PG who pushes the pace and looks to attack in transition isn't desirable.

Actually, I said Cole not being a great 90ft sprinter is irrelevant. His mentality pushing the pace is probably not exactly what we need--totally separate issue.

Good effort though.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Chin he's just 'a kid' saying something without thinking it through (i.e. us vs them).

If I were Hurley, I'd put him on the White team for the next scrimmage.

I'd rather the other players put him (or any other player) on the white team by their play by next scrimmage.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

when i saw the roster for the two teams posted here, i immediately thought that blue looked like a 'stale' group. literally, i thought 'stale.' then later, i read coach's comments aboot 'stale.'
duh. obvious to the blind man. i mean, think aboot it. rj deserves the nod to begin, but 'electric' wouldn't be appropriate in his case. tyrese will always be up in it on both sides of the floor, so good on him. adama is talented and hungry, also good on him. isaiah is kind of indispensable, but offensive surges are not reasonably expected from him. hawk is hoped to be what folks dream typo should have been. let's hope. typo is not capable of guarding anyone on the blue team. or the white team. none. stale city.
on the udder hand, jmoney, ajax, samson, sool (wicked smaht), beastman corey, et als?
electric.
'hey yoo guys!....
we're gonna turn it on,
we're gonna bring you the power,
we're gonna light up the dark of night,
like the brightest day, in a whole new way.'

 

[Huskybass]

Jackson fascinates me. He impacts the game constantly. Whether it's a rebound, steal, assist...whatever. I don't think he will ever be a very good shooter at UConn, but he will still be incredibly valuable this season. I wouldn't want to play against someone like him.

For the record, I think he can shoot, but he was too fired up last season to show it. Perhaps if he relaxes a bit and feels more comfortable he will hit some outside shots. We know he has put the work in.

 

[Umami Zen]

I'll ask a question another way that has already been asked in this thread--For those who saw the scrimmage--How was AA moving within the flow of the practice/scrimmage? Is he showing signs of improved and confident mobility/physicality that fans are hoping for?? Don't care about points scored at this point.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Actually, I said Cole not being a great 90ft sprinter is irrelevant. His mentality pushing the pace is probably not exactly what we need--totally separate issue.

Good effort though.

Well good to see others who were there reported it was relevant for Gaff, Jackson and Diggins.

 

[husky429]

Well good to see others who were there reported it was relevant for Gaff, Jackson and Diggins.

You think Diggins is a great athlete? He might be slower than RJ man

Running fast is not nearly as relevant to playing fast as you think for a PG.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Jackson fascinates me. He impacts the game constantly. Whether it's a rebound, steal, assist...whatever. I don't think he will ever be a very good shooter at UConn, but he will still be incredibly valuable this season. I wouldn't want to play against someone like him.

For the record, I think he can shoot, but he was too fired up last season to show it. Perhaps if he relaxes a bit and feels more comfortable he will hit some outside shots. We know he has put the work in.

Jackson makes the opponent play their offense and their defense at a pace they are uncomfortable playing. Constant frenetic energy. May not always be efficient in the moment but it puts a mindset in the opponents head where they cannot relax.

And yes, agree, he will have games where he has a broad impact on the game and ends up with 8-10 points.

 

[navery12]

Not really. They were a group chirping last week that a PG who pushes the pace and looks to attack in transition isn't desirable.

That was your takeaway from our discussion last week? That we want slow PGs who don't push the pace and look to attack? I don't care who pushes the pace on the break whether it's RJ, Gaffney, Diggins, or Jackson

 

[8893]

I continue to believe that Jackson's best use will be first man off the bench at first timeout. He injects a whole different energy in the game and will keep opponents off balance by being more of a challenge at both ends of the floor than the player for whom he is subbing.

 

[bolt34]

I'll ask a question another way that has already been asked in this thread--For those who saw the scrimmage--How was AA moving within the flow of the practice/scrimmage? Is he showing signs of improved and confident mobility/physicality that fans are hoping for?? Don't care about points scored at this point.

100x times yes. This was the biggest takeaway I picked up. What looks different from last year is that freshman timidndss seems to be gone, he continually looks to push the action, get into the lane, make plays. A lot of, “make a play Dre!” from Hurley. There was one moment where Rashool and Andre were playing a little two man game and Andre moved the ball to the other side of the floor and Hurley stopped the scrimmage and went up to both Sool and AJ and told them, “you guys need to create something there.” So it seems like a point of emphasis for Hurley as well.


Also if he can shoot it like he did today (I know it’s just an open practice) we’ll be hearing his name in the lottery. He’s that good.

 

[Umami Zen]

Court vision and quick/accurate/efficient passing will beat foot speed down the court 99% of the time on the break.

The likely ball handlers on the break for this year's team bring different skills to the table. AJ has elite court vision/passing ability combined with freakish athletic ability and explosive burst ( a FB term for foot speed).

The other guys have different talents. Although he may not get a ton of PT this year to display his talents. Sool also has elite vision/ BB IQ for a PG. In the future-predicting he'll be special with the ball in his hands.

Will DH let them run and push the ball is the conundrum.

 

[Chin Diesel]

You think Diggins is a great athlete? He might be slower than RJ man

Running fast is not nearly as relevant to playing fast as you think for a PG.

No. What I read was two different posters and at least one beat writer say Diggins looked smooth and comfortable on the floor and ran things well while RJ, and the rest of the blue team, looked stale.

Besides saying they played like a stale bagel, Hurley added “The older guys on the Blue Team didn’t have the same energy level,” Hurley noted, seemingly referring to Whaley and Cole. “Maybe they’re saving it for the opener, but that’s never a good approach. You’ve always got to be ready to go.”

As to your final statement, yes, put me in the Jerry Rice camp. While he ran a slow 40 in the combine, it was said many a times that you never saw Jerry Rice get run down from behind in a game.

So, yes, regardless of raw speed, I like PG's who can move the ball up the court quickly. And since Jackson is the only player I've seen on this roster who can pass the ball up the court accurately, we're left with needing guards who can move with the ball quickly.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I'll ask a question another way that has already been asked in this thread--For those who saw the scrimmage--How was AA moving within the flow of the practice/scrimmage? Is he showing signs of improved and confident mobility/physicality that fans are hoping for?? Don't care about points scored at this point.

100x times yes. This was the biggest takeaway I picked up. What looks different from last year is that freshman timidndss seems to be gone, he continually looks to push the action, get into the lane, make plays. A lot of, “make a play Dre!” from Hurley. There was one moment where Rashool and Andre were playing a little two man game and Andre moved the ball to the other side of the floor and Hurley stopped the scrimmage and went up to both Sool and AJ and told them, “you guys need to create something there.” So it seems like a point of emphasis for Hurley as well.


Also if he can shoot it like he did today (I know it’s just an open practice) we’ll be hearing his name in the lottery. He’s that good.

What did I miss here? First person asks about Akok and second person gives a response of how Jackson played???

 

[Umami Zen]

100x times yes. This was the biggest takeaway I picked up. What looks different from last year is that freshman timidndss seems to be gone, he continually looks to push the action, get into the lane, make plays. A lot of, “make a play Dre!” from Hurley. There was one moment where Rashool and Andre were playing a little two man game and Andre moved the ball to the other side of the floor and Hurley stopped the scrimmage and went up to both Sool and AJ and told them, “you guys need to create something there.” So it seems like a point of emphasis for Hurley as well.


Also if he can shoot it like he did today (I know it’s just an open practice) we’ll be hearing his name in the lottery. He’s that good.

Appreciate your input/perspective re:Sool/AJ..Optimistic about their potential collaborations.

Was referring to Akok in my previous/earlier comments.

 

[bolt34]

Appreciate your input/perspective re:Sool/AJ..Optimistic about their potential collaborations.

Was referring to Akok in my previous/earlier comments.

Ahhhhh hahaha, my mistake. Read AA as AJ.

 

[husky429]

No. What I read was two different posters and at least one beat writer say Diggins looked smooth and comfortable on the floor and ran things well while RJ, and the rest of the blue team, looked stale.

Besides saying they played like a stale bagel, Hurley added “The older guys on the Blue Team didn’t have the same energy level,” Hurley noted, seemingly referring to Whaley and Cole. “Maybe they’re saving it for the opener, but that’s never a good approach. You’ve always got to be ready to go.”

As to your final statement, yes, put me in the Jerry Rice camp. While he ran a slow 40 in the combine, it was said many a times that you never saw Jerry Rice get run down from behind in a game.

So, yes, regardless of raw speed, I like PG's who can move the ball up the court quickly. And since Jackson is the only player I've seen on this roster who can pass the ball up the court accurately, we're left with needing guards who can move with the ball quickly.

Your point for the last week has been that RJ is too slow to run an offense quickly. Why are you changing your tune now?

 

[NJHusky]

Ahhhhh hahaha, my mistake. Read AA as AJ.

Do you have any feedback on AA?

 

[NJHusky]

Your point for the last week has been that RJ is too slow to run an offense quickly. Why are you changing your tune now?

Do you consider RJ an elite passer?

 

[husky429]

Do you consider RJ an elite passer?

Nope, and it's also not relevant to my point. I think he's a good, not great, passer. He's probably best with a pass-first player (like Andre) to set him up for catch and shoots and attacking closeouts. The reason RJ isn't a fast-tempo PG is his mentality. It has nothing to do with his footspeed. That's the disagreement here.

 

[Psolo12]

Not really. They were a group chirping last week that a PG who pushes the pace and looks to attack in transition isn't desirable.

No, no we were not.

 

[mussels]

Total dick comment by RJ saying blue team should he beating white team.

"That's the depth that we have on our team," said Cole when asked about the White team winning. "That goes to show we're a very talented team and it's not always going to be the Blue team beating the White team, as much as we should be beating them. They're talented as well. It's not going to be a cakewalk."

This is how I read it: "Returning starters are supposed to beat incoming freshman, but we didn't, so that shows how talented these new guys are" Took it as a classy statement, giving props to the new guys (and the others who don't start).

How do you read his statement ?

 

[NJHusky]

Nope, and it's also not relevant to my point. I think he's a good, not great, passer. He's probably best with a pass-first player (like Andre) to set him up for catch and shoots and attacking closeouts. The reason RJ isn't a fast-tempo PG is his mentality. It has nothing to do with his footspeed. That's the disagreement here.

thx...I understand the issue...but if he's slow, and not a great passer, I don't see how he can be great at leading the fast break, even if he wants to. I agree on the mentality...he's never been the fastest guy on the court so he prob grew up playing a slower pace. Seems to me you are describing him as a combo, not a facilitator