Peach Jam Sunday 7/17 | The Boneyard

Peach Jam Sunday 7/17

Smokie said:
Can watch Scotty Middleton 《Brad Beal Elite ) against Solo Ball and Jayden Ross ( Team Melo ) @ 11:00 am. Sunday Game streamed on EYbl site. Not sure if Tafara Gaspare will be playing with BBE or not..
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I hope team Melo can get all their guys to play.. they don’t seem to get all hands on deck in these sessions
 
Melo got in a hole early and couldn't get out, cut it to 4 but couldn't put it away. My notes...

SOLO 1/17
  • Ended up with 11/4/2. 5/8 overall, 1/4 from deep.
  • Nice hit ahead assist early in the first
  • Bricked a 3 from the corner
  • Rebounding well early
  • Looks one-dimension on offense right now… can’t even get his shot off.
  • Low-risk passer. He’ll be a low turnover kind of player in time.
  • Projects as a solid drive and kick passer… not much in the way of pick and roll passing right now though
  • Terrible no-call by a ref on one of his misses.
  • He’s kind of predictable in the half court. Very few dribble moves to get open and to the rim… always goes and finishes left.
  • Open court he’s super creative, if a bit TO prone.
  • MUCH better 3 point shooter when he is in the flow of the offense with good footwork… same thing as I saw before. He is a good shooter, with a questionable IQ…. shot selection is poor. He’s going to find a lot of his shots from deep unacceptable at Brewster.
  • GREAT putback early in the 3rd. The kid is QUICK
  • Absolutely go go gadget arms. He must have a 6’10 wingspan
  • I cannot stress how abysmal his shot selection is. He’s just throwing it up from deep without good footwork at all.
  • 2 foul assists that I remember… bunch of bricked 3s his teammates missed on swing passes.
  • Limited offensive skillset was evident today on the perimeter. He was shut down for most of the game.
  • Very strong at the rim… most of his points were offball cuts and putbacks. VERY efficient from 2.
  • Athletic transition block.. Not sure if it was before or after the whistle
ROSS 1/17
  • Ended up with 11/5/0… 4/9 from the field, ⅖ from deep. 1/1 from the line.
  • Couple of nice rebounds
  • Really bad at driving… too small, bad handles getting downhill…
  • Missed a couple 3s early
  • He sits a lot… just not quite good enough if his shot isn’t falling.
  • Not super coordinated because of the lack of hip and core strength
  • Had a a pretty mid-post fade away J
  • GREAT and-1 3 ball on the assist from SOLO
  • Not a good passer… vision isn’t there because the skills are all still building. He’s too focused on not turning it over… plays too fast.
  • Legit shooter. Once he’s strong, I could see him in a role like Polley with better rebounding. We definitely could use a bench sniper for 4 years if he won’t transfer.
  • Needs 2 years of SnC and diet work
 
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Game summary - Brad Beal Elite (Scotty) won 63-53. Team Melo (Ball + Ross) almost overcame a double digit 4th quarter deficit but got beat badly on the boards and BBE ran away with it late

Ball: 11pts / 4reb, 5-8 shooting
Ross: 11pts / 5reb, 4-9 shooting
Middleton: 13pts / 5reb, 5-8 shooting
 
I've watched hundreds of top 100 players over the years, and I rejoice when targets commit to UConn. From their commitment date, I enjoy being optimistic every year about the possibilities of our new recruits and what they bring to help us win on the big stage. This time, I've watched 3 1/2 games of Melo and 2 of Beal so far, and I haven't seen a hint of play that would justify high rankings for these guys. Ball, Ross, and Middleton all offer developmental possibilities, but none of them look ready to contribute right away. It's concerning if our roster requires us to rely on them next year. As an individual player, I like Ross so far. Contrary to Husky429 I think he is pretty good with the ball, (better than Hawkins last year). The strength issue shows more because he plays out of position at center for Melo in these recent games. I expected much more effort from Ball than I've seen, and, I've yet to see an athletic play that would distinguish him from the other players on the court. My concern is compounded because they aren't winning games. I don't see how we win The Big East and make deep Ncaa runs if this became our core group. IMO these guys seem most suited to help a team that has a core of alpha players like Clingan, Karaban, Johnson, Castle, portal transfers, etc Diarra seems like he would keep these guys glued to the bench.

I think, together with our current reported targets, we have taken a big step down from the potential of Edwards, Griffi.ths, Bowen, Miranda, Bradshaw, Batulis, Watson, Kante, and more recent names like Estrella, Kingsley, Gafare. All these guys showed something in every game that projected them as top 100 players.

Hurley obviously feels he can make these guys good, and each of them appears to be the type of quality kid that expects to put in the work. I'm routing for them but my fingers are crossed.
 
Ricker said:
Contrary to Husky429 I think he is pretty good with the ball, (better than Hawkins last year).
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FWIW I'm talking about Ross's ability to get downhill. He's fine bringing it up the court... doesn't seem to be able to get by anyone.

But overall, yeah I agree. Ross is obviously a bench player. Solo is super inconsistent. The games he's dropping 30+ he looks like a star, other times he just looks like he's running through the motions. I am chalking that up to the inconsistent energy levels you see in AAU.

As far as Middleton... he's another high ceiling player and I'm be happy if he committed, but I'm hardly worried about the OSU news.
 
Ricker said:
I've watched hundreds of top 100 players over the years, and I rejoice when targets commit to UConn. From their commitment date, I enjoy being optimistic every year about the possibilities of our new recruits and what they bring to help us win on the big stage. This time, I've watched 3 1/2 games of Melo and 2 of Beal so far, and I haven't seen a hint of play that would justify high rankings for these guys. Ball, Ross, and Middleton all offer developmental possibilities, but none of them look ready to contribute right away. It's concerning if our roster requires us to rely on them next year. As an individual player, I like Ross so far. Contrary to Husky429 I think he is pretty good with the ball, (better than Hawkins last year). The strength issue shows more because he plays out of position at center for Melo in these recent games. I expected much more effort from Ball than I've seen, and, I've yet to see an athletic play that would distinguish him from the other players on the court. My concern is compounded because they aren't winning games. I don't see how we win The Big East and make deep Ncaa runs if this became our core group. IMO these guys seem most suited to help a team that has a core of alpha players like Clingan, Karaban, Johnson, Castle, portal transfers, etc Diarra seems like he would keep these guys glued to the bench.

I think, together with our current reported targets, we have taken a big step down from the potential of Edwards, Griffi.ths, Bowen, Miranda, Bradshaw, Batulis, Watson, Kante, and more recent names like Estrella, Kingsley, Gafare. All these guys showed something in every game that projected them as top 100 players.

Hurley obviously feels he can make these guys good, and each of them appears to be the type of quality kid that expects to put in the work. I'm routing for them but my fingers are crossed.
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And FWIW... the reason they're losing games is because of rebounding primarily.
 
Brewster is going to be good for Solo; it’s likely to be the best coaching he’s ever had, considering his AAU and high school experiences. Jason does a nice job, and he’s going to be surrounded by talent. Now Jayden needs to get his figured out.
 
Ricker said:
I've watched hundreds of top 100 players over the years, and I rejoice when targets commit to UConn. From their commitment date, I enjoy being optimistic every year about the possibilities of our new recruits and what they bring to help us win on the big stage. This time, I've watched 3 1/2 games of Melo and 2 of Beal so far, and I haven't seen a hint of play that would justify high rankings for these guys. Ball, Ross, and Middleton all offer developmental possibilities, but none of them look ready to contribute right away. It's concerning if our roster requires us to rely on them next year. As an individual player, I like Ross so far. Contrary to Husky429 I think he is pretty good with the ball, (better than Hawkins last year). The strength issue shows more because he plays out of position at center for Melo in these recent games. I expected much more effort from Ball than I've seen, and, I've yet to see an athletic play that would distinguish him from the other players on the court. My concern is compounded because they aren't winning games. I don't see how we win The Big East and make deep Ncaa runs if this became our core group. IMO these guys seem most suited to help a team that has a core of alpha players like Clingan, Karaban, Johnson, Castle, portal transfers, etc Diarra seems like he would keep these guys glued to the bench.

I think, together with our current reported targets, we have taken a big step down from the potential of Edwards, Griffi.ths, Bowen, Miranda, Bradshaw, Batulis, Watson, Kante, and more recent names like Estrella, Kingsley, Gafare. All these guys showed something in every game that projected them as top 100 players.

Hurley obviously feels he can make these guys good, and each of them appears to be the type of quality kid that expects to put in the work. I'm routing for them but my fingers are crossed.
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I respect your basketball analysis because you've clearly shown you know what you're talking about over the years but I think you're way way off base here. And I could have told you this post was coming from you 2 years ago before anyone committed regardless of who we got. You made up your mind that you wanted the local guys like Griffiths and Bowen and anything other than that was going to be trashed by you.

Now that's not to say the local guys aren't going to be great players, or that Ball/Ross/Middleton are perfect prospects (and we're not even getting Middleton so you can rest easy there). But I feel very confident in saying you're going in with a closed mind when watching these games. This is just an incredibly bad take from you
 
.-.
Ricker said:
I've watched hundreds of top 100 players over the years, and I rejoice when targets commit to UConn. From their commitment date, I enjoy being optimistic every year about the possibilities of our new recruits and what they bring to help us win on the big stage. This time, I've watched 3 1/2 games of Melo and 2 of Beal so far, and I haven't seen a hint of play that would justify high rankings for these guys. Ball, Ross, and Middleton all offer developmental possibilities, but none of them look ready to contribute right away. It's concerning if our roster requires us to rely on them next year. As an individual player, I like Ross so far. Contrary to Husky429 I think he is pretty good with the ball, (better than Hawkins last year). The strength issue shows more because he plays out of position at center for Melo in these recent games. I expected much more effort from Ball than I've seen, and, I've yet to see an athletic play that would distinguish him from the other players on the court. My concern is compounded because they aren't winning games. I don't see how we win The Big East and make deep Ncaa runs if this became our core group. IMO these guys seem most suited to help a team that has a core of alpha players like Clingan, Karaban, Johnson, Castle, portal transfers, etc Diarra seems like he would keep these guys glued to the bench.

I think, together with our current reported targets, we have taken a big step down from the potential of Edwards, Griffi.ths, Bowen, Miranda, Bradshaw, Batulis, Watson, Kante, and more recent names like Estrella, Kingsley, Gafare. All these guys showed something in every game that projected them as top 100 players.

Hurley obviously feels he can make these guys good, and each of them appears to be the type of quality kid that expects to put in the work. I'm routing for them but my fingers are crossed.
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I don’t think the idea is for these guys to be starting immediately sans Castle. Ross is clearly a developmental guy, Solo probably isn’t a starter until year 2 ideally. Scotty might get on the floor for his team if they need his defensive presence, but I agree that he’s over ranked. Edwards and Griffiths were immediate impact guys, but there’s no point in lamenting the misses there.
 
Ricker said:
I've watched hundreds of top 100 players over the years, and I rejoice when targets commit to UConn. From their commitment date, I enjoy being optimistic every year about the possibilities of our new recruits and what they bring to help us win on the big stage. This time, I've watched 3 1/2 games of Melo and 2 of Beal so far, and I haven't seen a hint of play that would justify high rankings for these guys. Ball, Ross, and Middleton all offer developmental possibilities, but none of them look ready to contribute right away. It's concerning if our roster requires us to rely on them next year. As an individual player, I like Ross so far. Contrary to Husky429 I think he is pretty good with the ball, (better than Hawkins last year). The strength issue shows more because he plays out of position at center for Melo in these recent games. I expected much more effort from Ball than I've seen, and, I've yet to see an athletic play that would distinguish him from the other players on the court. My concern is compounded because they aren't winning games. I don't see how we win The Big East and make deep Ncaa runs if this became our core group. IMO these guys seem most suited to help a team that has a core of alpha players like Clingan, Karaban, Johnson, Castle, portal transfers, etc Diarra seems like he would keep these guys glued to the bench.

I think, together with our current reported targets, we have taken a big step down from the potential of Edwards, Griffi.ths, Bowen, Miranda, Bradshaw, Batulis, Watson, Kante, and more recent names like Estrella, Kingsley, Gafare. All these guys showed something in every game that projected them as top 100 players.

Hurley obviously feels he can make these guys good, and each of them appears to be the type of quality kid that expects to put in the work. I'm routing for them but my fingers are crossed.
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Think it all depends on what happens next year. Newton and Alleyne have extra years of eligibility if they want it. The goal is for Hawkins and Andre to go pro after next year, but if they don't, then we could have our starting PG/SG/SF solidified already. Castle would probably take 6th Man from Alleyne, and then him/Diarra/Ball would share bench backcourt minutes with potential to try some out as a small ball SF. Ross would probably be a multi-year developmental player regardless, and this obviously doesn't include any future commits/transfers.

There's lots of combinations for these guys depending on who leaves next offseason. If we want Ball/Ross/maybe Middleton to be the go-to guys in 2023, then you are absolutely right we are definitely in trouble. They all look very raw, but they still have a year to develop in HS and maybe with some guys from the coaching staff giving them feedback. However, unless everybody overachieves next year and goes pro (which would hopefully mean a deep tournament run!), I think we'll have at least a few major players back to allow the freshmen a year to get into the swing of BE basketball.
 
NJHoops said:
Brewster is going to be good for Solo; it’s likely to be the best coaching he’s ever had, considering his AAU and high school experiences. Jason does a nice job, and he’s going to be surrounded by talent. Now Jayden needs to get his figured out.
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Now that I know who you are, I need to like every one of your posts. Not that it matters. You have the most impressive reaction score to post ratio I’ve seen. ;)
 
navery12 said:
I respect your basketball analysis because you've clearly shown you know what you're talking about over the years but I think you're way way off base here. And I could have told you this post was coming from you 2 years ago before anyone committed regardless of who we got. You made up your mind that you wanted the local guys like Griffiths and Bowen and anything other than that was going to be trashed by you.

Now that's not to say the local guys aren't going to be great players, or that Ball/Ross/Middleton are perfect prospects (and we're not even getting Middleton so you can rest easy there). But I feel very confident in saying you're going in with a closed mind when watching these games. This is just an incredibly bad take from you
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We might have seen the post coming but that doesn't mean it isn't true. Ricker has championship level expectations for the program and 2023 had the potential to be a monster class given the local talent yet castle is the only championship caliber player he thinks we've landed. It's an objective take even if you might not appreciate his negativity. Idk if he's even being negative he's just really disappointed.

after a rocky start you and I have gotten along for a couple years now and I hope we continue to, but ever since you were promoted to moderator status you've been a bit authoritarian
 
bendm said:
We might have seen the post coming but that doesn't mean it isn't true. Ricker has championship level expectations for the program and 2023 had the potential to be a monster class given the local talent yet castle is the only championship caliber player he thinks we've landed. It's an objective take even if you might not appreciate his negativity. Idk if he's even being negative he's just really disappointed.

after a rocky start you and I have gotten along for a couple years now and I hope we continue to, but ever since you were promoted to moderator status you've been a bit authoritarian
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Ever since what? I'm certainly not a moderator here
 
bendm said:
We might have seen the post coming but that doesn't mean it isn't true. Ricker has championship level expectations for the program and 2023 had the potential to be a monster class given the local talent yet castle is the only championship caliber player he thinks we've landed. It's an objective take even if you might not appreciate his negativity. Idk if he's even being negative he's just really disappointed.
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Isn't it pretty much the definition of a subjective take?
 
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BigErnMcCracken said:
Isn't it pretty much the definition of a subjective take?
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Not if his take is based on an objective analysis of the players, which I believe it is. Ricker might have had his heart set on some guys but I don't think that means he's been unfairly critical of Ball and Ross.
 
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bendm said:
Not if his take is based on an objective analysis of the players, which I believe it is. Ricker might have had his heart set on some guys but I don't think that means he's been unfairly critical of Ball and Ross.
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It’s based on his subjective analysis.
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
It’s based on his subjective analysis.
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Are you saying Unless one is evaluating a player based solely on verifiable statistics then it cannot be objective? If that's the case then there is no such thing as an objective player analysis because it will always be based in part on one's own observations.
 
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bendm said:
Are you saying Unless one is evaluating a player based solely on verifiable statistics then it cannot be objective? If that's the case then there is no such thing as an objective player analysis because it will always be based in part on one's own observations.
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I think that's exactly what he's saying. Seems pretty reasonable tbh
 
husky429 said:
I think that's exactly what he's saying. Seems pretty reasonable tbh
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Im done putting words in Rickers mouth But People are surely capable of objectivity without having to rely on statistics. We all make objective decisions every day without consulting spreadsheets first.
 
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My understanding is this class is one of the weakest in years. Perhaps the disconnect with talent analysis is the number in front of their names whereby a #35 last year was a sophomore starter and next year a #35 is a junior starter.
 
bendm said:
Im done putting words in Rickers mouth But People are surely capable of objectivity without having to rely on statistics. We all make objective decisions every day without consulting spreadsheets first.
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I think you may be conflating "objective" with "disinterested" or "impartial". Ricker's judgment is not distorted by bias. But, if you took different skilled observers -- college coaches for instance -- you would come up with diverse appraisals of players and their futures. In that sense these appraisals are subjective, Ricker's included. They depend on personal experiences, perspectives, and beliefs about what makes a good basketball player and how players are likely to develop that differ among persons.
 
Ricker said:
I've watched hundreds of top 100 players over the years, and I rejoice when targets commit to UConn. From their commitment date, I enjoy being optimistic every year about the possibilities of our new recruits and what they bring to help us win on the big stage. This time, I've watched 3 1/2 games of Melo and 2 of Beal so far, and I haven't seen a hint of play that would justify high rankings for these guys. Ball, Ross, and Middleton all offer developmental possibilities, but none of them look ready to contribute right away. It's concerning if our roster requires us to rely on them next year. As an individual player, I like Ross so far. Contrary to Husky429 I think he is pretty good with the ball, (better than Hawkins last year). The strength issue shows more because he plays out of position at center for Melo in these recent games. I expected much more effort from Ball than I've seen, and, I've yet to see an athletic play that would distinguish him from the other players on the court. My concern is compounded because they aren't winning games. I don't see how we win The Big East and make deep Ncaa runs if this became our core group. IMO these guys seem most suited to help a team that has a core of alpha players like Clingan, Karaban, Johnson, Castle, portal transfers, etc Diarra seems like he would keep these guys glued to the bench.

I think, together with our current reported targets, we have taken a big step down from the potential of Edwards, Griffi.ths, Bowen, Miranda, Bradshaw, Batulis, Watson, Kante, and more recent names like Estrella, Kingsley, Gafare. All these guys showed something in every game that projected them as top 100 players.

Hurley obviously feels he can make these guys good, and each of them appears to be the type of quality kid that expects to put in the work. I'm routing for them but my fingers are crossed.
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I respect this take. Whether objective, subjective, true, false, right or wrong, this type of post is what makes this place great. If everyone just stated how great everything is, it would be boring. BTW, I hope Ricker is wrong.
 
An explanation because I wasn't intending to be particularly negative or controversial.

I want to be clear, Ball & Ross are going to be Huskies so I am supportive. The reports of Ball's athleticism, strength, attitude, commitment to improvement, and ranking, are all thumbs up. Playing at Brewster allows me to watch him in person a few times against top competition from a few feet away. I'm looking forward to that. All subjective. If a guy projects to be good enough to impact high division 1 play, watching him live over 3.5 random games ought to at least find some stretches where he puts the team on his back. He has had 30 points in other games so he obviously has it in him, objectively. @husky429 has given his assessments which I think are fair and not really different from mine. My only input is based on the particular games I watched live. I only posted what I saw because it's unfair to a kid if fan expectations for his impact are too high.

My satisfaction 'gauge' is to have UConn regularly finishing in the top 4 of the conference, putting up a gallant fight to try to win the conference tournament, make the ncaa tourney, and have periodic deep runs. My view of players relates to being able to contribute delivering on these hopes.

Subjectively, to meet my Uconn BB hopes, I am biased to favor players that have objective accomplishments, especially related to winning competitions, or they repeatedly meet the subjective 'eye test':

Akinjo led his Oakland team to Peach Jam Championship and was MVP then was important to deep Baylor run.
Floyd played well even out of position at PG in Peach Jam finals and was a winner, college we'll see
Castle fights competition and makes a USA Team
Karaban wins NEPSAC conference, is MVP, and shows well in Pangos Cream of the Crop game of top 100 players
Clingan is top player in Pittsburg AAU field amongst tons of other top players
Sanogo ate up top 100 players like Big Cliff in direct on court battles
Richie Springs was statistically one of the top rebounders in AAU
Andre Jackson it was just the eye test and putting the team on his back all the time
Bouknight it was running plays for him, hitting 3's, and rundown effort to block breakaway layups, Anthony PG

Objectively, I am unaware of Ball & Ross being associated as important cogs on championship teams, receiving accolades as top players in tournaments, or showing up as statistical leaders in scoring, rebounding, percentage shooting, assists, or other categories. (I haven't killed myself looking, so I could be wrong and unaware).

Subjectively, you have @husky429 breakdowns, and I have added impressions from 3.5 particular games. Not meant to be more than that. Their contributions at UConn aren't determined yet. Hurley has a vision for them. I'm routing for them.

I expressed my disappointment that we didn't snag other particular players. I think that is legitimate because many are important cogs on winning teams, have made all tournament teams, are leaders in statistical categories, objectively were high ranked in numerous cases. Moreover, most were 'local', unofficially visited, and knew our players. I had hopes for a couple. My bad. (I'm still cling to hope that in the future, the transfer portal delivers somebody from my list).

I'm done till I watch more games.
 
Ricker said:
Subjectively, to meet my Uconn BB hopes, I am biased to favor players that have objective accomplishments, especially related to winning competitions, or they repeatedly meet the subjective 'eye test':

Akinjo led his Oakland team to Peach Jam Championship and was MVP then was important to deep Baylor run.
Floyd played well even out of position at PG in Peach Jam finals and was a winner, college we'll see
Castle fights competition and makes a USA Team
Karaban wins NEPSAC conference, is MVP, and shows well in Pangos Cream of the Crop game of top 100 players
Clingan is top player in Pittsburg AAU field amongst tons of other top players
Sanogo ate up top 100 players like Big Cliff in direct on court battles
Richie Springs was statistically one of the top rebounders in AAU
Andre Jackson it was just the eye test and putting the team on his back all the time
Bouknight it was running plays for him, hitting 3's, and rundown effort to block breakaway layups, Anthony PG

Objectively, I am unaware of Ball & Ross being associated as important cogs on championship teams, receiving accolades as top players in tournaments, or showing up as statistical leaders in scoring, rebounding, percentage shooting, assists, or other categories. (I haven't killed myself looking, so I could be wrong and unaware).
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"Objectively, I am unaware of Ball & Ross being associated as important cogs on championship teams, receiving accolades as top players in tournaments, or showing up as statistical leaders in scoring"

Yes you were wrong.

Solomon Ball just recently made first team all Nike EYBL: Kansas City , like 5 days ago and averaged 19.8 a game in the tourny which featured some of the best AAU teams and best players. In comparison Taylor Bowen made third team, diff positions but still. He was top 15 in scoring in all of EYBL until the last few games and now stands at number 18. Just that alone is better than most of those on your list above and which are all pretty weak accomplishments and some are just your "eye test" not even accomplishments. I mean Springs seems to go against your point as he was a stud in AAU rebounding and hasn't touched the court in 2 years and counting.

www.theseasonticket.com

HOME

www.theseasonticket.com www.theseasonticket.com
 
Appreciate you so much @Ricker - I live in Florida so can't see any of the kids. Love your objectivity/no bias. So many Hurley defenders at all costs and bashers as well, I love people who can find the good and bad and call it like they see it.

Really put a lot of stock into what you and @husky429 give us. Been on the Yard for 20+ years and I don't follow recruiting heavy at all anymore like I did when I lived and breathed it like when we got Marcus White out of Chicago (we really needed a PF & was so ecstatic, didn't know Boone/Charlie V were in next cycle) or Rip out of Coatesville (near my hometown) or even Ricky Moore out of GA!

So these reports fill a lot of gaps for a former recruitnik like me! Thank you again, I'm sure I'm not alone on this!
 
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