Personnel Needs for Next Season

[Palatine]

All bringing him (AG) back will do is set back Gaffney and/or Bouknight.

Not really. It could be a huge plus for both. Getting Bouk more open looks and easy baskets. Accelerating Gaffney's development by pushing him every day in practice.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

not over thinking. If an additional spot opens up for next year, do you know of an available kid who fits that description?

No, but there are kids you don't know about that are available. Finding these "diamonds in the rough" is the coaches job. An obvious example - was Ja Morant a highly sought recruit?

How Ja Morant went from an unranked player in high school to the likely No. 2 pick in the NBA draft

When Ja Morant arrived at Murray State in Kentucky, he went unnoticed around town and on campus. For a while at least. “Coming from being under the radar, I could sit somewhere and nobody wou…

www.chicagotribune.com

 

[tower1]

Where does everyone think Alterique is going?

Over seas or bench.

 

[bendm]

I would welcome Alterique back with open arms

even if it means missing out on cliff? or is not getting cliff a built in assumption of your post?

 

[Storrs South]

even if it means missing out on cliff? or is not getting cliff a built in assumption of your post?

If Cliff were to come here then the conversation changes. Otherwise Alterique is better than any alternative at this point.

 

[uconntoatl]

Cliff in and Grad transfer sharp shooter. Thank you for your time Gilbert and Carlton

 

[TheChamps990411]

Not really. It could be a huge plus for both. Getting Bouk more open looks and easy baskets. Accelerating Gaffney's development by pushing him every day in practice.

RJ Cole can do both and do it better.

 

[LIuconn]

....can he?

this sounds like ‘Ferrari in the garage’ all over again

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Cliff in and Grad transfer sharp shooter. Thank you for your time Gilbert and Carlton

Yea that Carlton is awful
I can’t understand why opposing Coaches feel the need to double team on almost every play . Boy are they stupid.

 

[UconnU]

PG- RJ Cole
SG- James Bouknight
SF- Brendan Adams
PF- Akok Akok
C- Josh Carlton

6-Andre Jackson
7-Sidney Wilson
8-Jalen Gaffney
9-Isaiah Whaley
10-Richard Springs

Redshirt
Javonte Brown
Tyler Polley

The lack of ball handling on this team scares the crap out of me. In the big east where we’re going to pressed in most games. Bringing AG back looks like our best option at the moment.

 

[polycom]

Yea that Carlton is awful
I can’t understand why opposing Coaches feel the need to double team on almost every play . Boy are they stupid.

It's easy to double when there are no shooters on the floor to worry about. The double comes from somewhere...

 

[uconntoatl]

Yea that Carlton is awful
I can’t understand why opposing Coaches feel the need to double team on almost every play . Boy are they stupid.

Carlton allowed the other team to shoot 5 free throws in the final minutes of Villanova, got abused by the dude on Whichita St on the same move going to the right at least 7 times, never has denied an entry pass, and lacks consistency on offense. If Cliff comes, which I dont think he is (but wish), he is already better defensively and opens up our offense

 

[ucp990411]

With everyone now hyperventilating about Cliff Omuruyi, and now that we are halfway through the year, I thought it would be helpful to list the strengths and needs we will have for next year, and evaluate whether our current roster for next year as currently configured will meet those needs.

Roster for Next Year:

Starters

PG RJ Cole
SG James Bouknight
SF Andre Jackson
PF Akok Akok
C Josh Carlton

Bench
PG Jalen Gaffney
G Brendan Adams
F Sid Wilson
F Richie Springs
F Porkchop/Poppers
C Javonte Ferguson Brown

RedShirt(?)
F Tyler Polley

Roster Notes - We will have a lot more pure depth in numbers given that we currently have 12 full scholarship players on the roster and are recruiting another position. Polley's recover/return is a gray area. Based on the date he got hurt and a modern recovery timeline of 6-9 months for that type of injury, I bet he makes a decision near the start of next season whether to redshirt, so I'll leave him out of this projection for now. We know what he does anyway, he is a shooter.

Freshman Contributions -
I have no idea what JVB will bring. He's big, he's raw, he's young. Not usually a good combination for a freshman big, particularly in the Big East. I'm going to downplay his contribution level. If he can give us 5-10 minutes of defensive presence and some rebounding I'll be thrilled. Andre Jackson, as you can see my projection as a starter, I think is an entirely different animal. I think he is going to give us immediate impact in the dirty side of the game - rebounding, defense, intimidating opponents with splash plays... but also as a passer. That is something we really lack this year and I think he really can help to open up the offense by being a threat.

Perceived strengths/weaknesses

Strengths
1. Guard/Wing Starters Quality - Between RJ Cole, who will be an upgrade at PG, and the growth of Bouknight, we should have a national quality set of guards to start the game.
2. Guard/Wing Athleticism - We will have some intimidating raw size/speed/bounce enabling us to play fast and wear down our opponents with defense and pressure. Between Bouk, Jackson, Adams, Wilson, Akok we've got some pretty high-level athleticism for the first time in a decade at these spots.

Weaknesses

1. Frontcourt production and quality - Josh Carlton is... oh boy, he's Josh Carlton. I'll just leave it there and we can all nod knowingly. Good kid but who knows. Poppers is either Porkchop or Poppers but he's not going to give us a whole lot and expecting huge growth here is probably a mirage(but I still think he should play more). Richie Springs and Javonte Brown Ferguson are total question marks to me. It is unclear if either will be able to contribute meaningfully. I am mildly optimistic given his AAU stats that at least Springs should be able to give us some good rebounding help, but lets just leave them as a blank right now, which in itself is a weakness. We have very few known quantities here

2. Playmaking & Handle - We have struggled with this aspect of the game this year, but still project to have serious issues here. I think our starting unit of RJ Cole, Bouknight, and Jackson will be just fine. But the second unit - well that is scary. Poor Jalen Gaffney has been very underwhelming, sorry to say. Seems like an amazing kid so I'm hoping he can really use the offseason to really improve, because right now his handle is a real weakness, and he knows it. Between getting stripped, wasting 10 seconds trying to dribble around defensively 35 seconds from the basket, or literally dribbling off his foot as he did against Wichita, he cannot really function under pressure and can't really ever break down a defender. If in the course of the offense he can use screens to find a passing angle, the kid can dish it a bit, but if he cannot significantly upgrade his skills here over the offseason we will be in BIG trouble next year on the ball.

As we look to enjoy the end of this year, would be interested to hear everyone's thoughts on this. While I am very concerned about the frontcourt and would welcome(obviously) someone like an Omoruyi, for the success of our team NEXT YEAR, I'd almost toward leaning toward a grad transfer or impact PG for roster health.

How about someone who can shoot.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Shooters, shooters, and more shooters. In today's game you can never have too many.

 

[dennismenace]

Bouknight is a star next year if not by the end of this year. He’s the guy whose hands we will put the ball in when we need a bucket and he will get it. The future is good. But let’s squeeze some wins out of this season.

Not sure what he has on his agenda for the summer but a fully dedicated one to shooting, handle and learning to cover his defensive weaknesses would be wonderful. I like Akok's attitude toward self improvement. It's kind of a turning point and a maturity thing to acknowledge that your AAU days are in the rearview mirror and college let alone professional ball are quite demanding of work even with a boatload of talent. No substitute for perseverance and hard work. He had a close call at the beginning of the year. We've had a share of players who never really grew up and were more interested in campus life. I always remember Kemba coming back after his sophomore year when he spent the summer with the USA team that included pro/college players and he admitted to having been schooled by Rondo on his shortcomings. He came back with a mid range shot and improvement everywhere in his game. His confidence and leadership were infectious and he just picked that team up and carried it on his back all the way to the NC. I would hope Kemba stops by this summer at Storrs.
Nice having him nearby now.

 

[AntG168]

Carlton isn’t awful. He’s the perfect backup to a more talented big. We just don’t have that talented big on the roster

 

[Horatio]

Carlton isn’t awful. He’s the perfect backup to a more talented big. We just don’t have that talented big on the roster

100% agree and that’s the biggest issue. If we even had a quality backup to Carlton we’d be better this year. He has no backup

 

[Shine33]

PG- RJ Cole
SG- James Bouknight
SF- Brendan Adams
PF- Akok Akok
C- Josh Carlton

6-Andre Jackson
7-Sidney Wilson
8-Jalen Gaffney
9-Isaiah Whaley
10-Richard Springs

Redshirt
Javonte Brown
Tyler Polley

Man this would give you one to play with and their is some holes. Lets Hope RJ is the answer at the point. Think its been proven that Carlton isn't a great starting Center. Would be heavy looking for a big as a transfer or Recruit. But if Polley is out this team lacks shooting. Assume Cole can really shoot it. Adams AKok and Bouk hopefully 34-37 from 3. If you do not add another point a lot is on Cole and an unproven Gaffney. Always a lot of moving parts in the offseason, but I expect us to be really active.

I’d expect Polley to be good to go by the season start. He will be our shooter. We need another big. Cliff

 

[HuskyHawk]

Anybody have any idea who we might be in to see at this game?

 

[Fan4ever]

It is too early to pick starters and backups. We have no idea how much anyone will improve over the summer.

That is a big question mark as to who can make the leap, or "wants" to make the leap. Coming into this year there was some noticeable improvement from BA and a little from Tyler Phommachanh(bummer on the ACL, really wanted to see what he can do in AAC play). Didn't really see much else besides some regression.

 

[Bonk]

I mentioned this in a different thread a while ago but Nate Darling on Delaware should be eligible to grad transfer. He's a 6'5 shooter who can handle the ball. Averaging 19ppg while shooting 38% from 3. He put up 29 points against Villanova earlier this year on 6-11 from 3pt.

Hopefully our staff has eyes on him bc we need shooting.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

I mentioned this in a different thread a while ago but Nate Darling on Delaware should be eligible to grad transfer. He's a 6'5 shooter who can handle the ball. Averaging 19ppg while shooting 38% from 3. He put up 29 points against Villanova earlier this year on 6-11 from 3pt.

Hopefully our staff has eyes on him bc we need shooting.

Good find. Would love that off the bench. Kromah-esque

I can’t think of Kromah without thinking of the GW fan who showed up here telling us Kromah would push Boatright to the bench and average 25 a game here.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

100% agree and that’s the biggest issue. If we even had a quality backup to Carlton we’d be better this year. He has no backup

This was known and commented on frequently in the off-season. It can be withering to read complaints about something so seemingly well-understood in advance, and it surely makes me wish that Josh does not read or know what's written here. It wouldn't be good for someone who has confidence issues.

I appreciate what he does well, and cheer for him to steadily improve where needs have been identified. I imagine that the coaching staff does this as well, rather than harp on weaknesses and wish for somebody else (especially during the playing season).

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Good find. Would love that off the bench. Kromah-esque

I can’t think of Kromah without thinking of the GW fan who showed up here telling us Kromah would push Boatright to the bench and average 25 a game here.

Agreed.
Kromah's hyperbooster was inaccurate on the facts, but somehow created a very fulfilling, "If this guy is even half right, we'll be very happy indeed" scenario.

 

[Horatio]

This was known and commented on frequently in the off-season. It can be withering to read complaints about something so seemingly well-understood in advance, and it surely makes me wish that Josh does not read or know what's written here. It wouldn't be good for someone who has confidence issues.

I appreciate what he does well, and cheer for him to steadily improve where needs have been identified. I imagine that the coaching staff does this as well, rather than harp on weaknesses and wish for somebody else (especially during the playing season).

What are you talking about ??? Josh needs a back up. What’s the problem with that??? You do realize that Emeka, Shaq, Kareem , most college centers, etc. had/ have back ups. Our team needs more bigs. It’s a thread that discusses the roster. I’m sure Josh is not as big of a baby as you.