Point guard

[Rico444]

He's been the best player in practice. I've heard this from multiple people.

As frustrating as this season has been, and it should be obvious to anyone that read my thread from yesterday how frustrated I am, I think we're finally going to turn the corner next year. NCAAs or bust.

 

[upstater]

In response to the OP...

IMO Bazz and Kemba were combo guards playing point.

Gaff and Cole will be fine the next 2 years at point. As several have mentioned Cole has been extremely good in practice.

Shabazz was the Leonard Bernstein of UConn. He was the conductor.

 

[superjohn]

The idea that gets bandied about on this board that Kemba and Bazz aren't point guards is insane.

 

[freescooter]

I really want to be optimistic about RJ Cole, but after having my spirits crushed four years in a row, I’m trying to keep my expectations within reason.

This question could be for you, or for anybody. Does anyone know how he’s looked in practice this year? I know the level of play will be substantially more challenging for him next year, but I would think that his performance at UConn practices would give a good indication of how he will perform in the Big East next year. Any insight?

Best player on the floor. Guy who can’t play is ALWAYS the best player on the floor.

 

[coachn]

We need a productive PG right now. Love Gaffney but he has to be assertive NOW.

 

[Fatroony5]

Best player on the floor. Guy who can’t play is ALWAYS the best player on the floor.

I feel pretty good about RJ. I mean, he only needs to be a slight upgrade from AG to make an impact, which honestly isn’t asking too much from Him. Some of you may think Hurley has his limitations as an in game coach, but the guy can evaluate talent. He rolled with RJ over other options including Bones Hyland who seems to really be coming on. His track record of guards through URI like Matthews, Terrell, Russell etc makes me feel confident if he went all out to get Cole, no reason to think he can’t be a solid contributor next year.

 

[Huskyforlife]

I know Cole will be an upgrade to what we have now, but that is a low bar. Awhile back someone posted the numbers of MEAC stars that transferred to P5/Big East, and it was eye opening how poorly many of them performed. For that reason I'm staying cautiously optimistic with Cole, but I'd love to see enough growth from Gaffney by the end of this season, so that even if they have their own deficiencies, they'll be good enough together to make it work.

 

[Ratso]

gaffney kinda reminds me of austrie or williams a reliable pg. assuming everyone progresses, with finishers like bouk & akok, that’s all you need.

 

[LIuconn]

Why did he go to Howard? Did he have high major options and wanted to go to a HBCU?

 

[LIuconn]

Why do we pine for Craig Austrie? Seriously

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

I really want to be optimistic about RJ Cole, but after having my spirits crushed four years in a row, I’m trying to keep my expectations within reason.

This question could be for you, or for anybody. Does anyone know how he’s looked in practice this year? I know the level of play will be substantially more challenging for him next year, but I would think that his performance at UConn practices would give a good indication of how he will perform in the Big East next year. Any insight?

PS - No car analogies

 

[Ratso]

Why do we pine for Craig Austrie? Seriously

just sayin if we need to focus on big men. i’ll take a kemba every year

 

[ToolzieFan]

gaffney kinda reminds me of austrie or williams a reliable pg. assuming everyone progresses, with finishers like bouk & akok, that’s all you need.

Boy, there’s a big difference between Craig Austrie and Marcus Williams. Williams was dynamic and Austrie was...fine. Per 40 minutes, career:

Williams - 12.8 pts, 10.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 4.6 turnovers, twice in the top-5 nationally in assist rate

Austrie - 11.4 pts, 4.2 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 1.9 turnovers

 

[ToolzieFan]

I know Cole will be an upgrade to what we have now, but that is a low bar. Awhile back someone posted the numbers of MEAC stars that transferred to P5/Big East, and it was eye opening how poorly many of them performed. For that reason I'm staying cautiously optimistic with Cole, but I'd love to see enough growth from Gaffney by the end of this season, so that even if they have their own deficiencies, they'll be good enough together to make it work.

If you (or anyone else) could find that comparison, I’d love to see. I was wondering what type of precedent there had been for low-major to high-major transfers.

 

[Matt1010]

Who are we recruiting to really help lead UConn in the next several years?

I was one of the ones defending Alterique in the big thread this week because I believe this team needs him this year. I've also really liked what I've seen of Gaffney, but I am not there yet thinking that he will take over and lead UConn. He may only be a great combo guard here (which will be much to his credit).

College ball has always been about having a great PG leading the team in really tight situations, especially end of game. We haven't really had that for a long while, and I'm not sure I see it changing in the future. We could recruit 100 more Akoks, Bouknights, and Andre Jacksons, and it might not make a difference.

We've neglected the most valuable position on the court, while bringing in plenty of talent at the 2-3-4 positions. More so than almost any other team we play.

Khalid El-Amin, Taliek Brown, Marcus Williams, AJ Price, Kemba Walker, Shabazz Napier. These were key players in running the UConn offense in key situations, especially late in games.

We've deemphasized the position. Get back to the days of having 3 PGs on roster at all times.

In his first full recruiting cycle Hurley brought in a top 100 PG recruit and one of the better PG transfers available. That is the exact opposite of deemphasizing. At the time we also had a returning starting PG who many were excited about and expected to make the jump to the next level.

 

[CTBasketball]

We’ll be fine next year at PG and ball handling in general.

 

[Matt1010]

If you (or anyone else) could find that comparison, I’d love to see. I was wondering what type of precedent there had been for low-major to high-major transfers.

@tcf15 posted them a while back

2020 Recruiting: - RJ Cole

the-boneyard.com

 

[ToolzieFan]

@tcf15 posted them a while back

2020 Recruiting: - RJ Cole

the-boneyard.com

Perfect, thanks for posting. And thanks to @tcf15 for the original research.

 

[Ratso]

Boy, there’s a big difference between Craig Austrie and Marcus Williams. Williams was dynamic and Austrie was...fine. Per 40 minutes, career:

Williams - 12.8 pts, 10.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 4.6 turnovers, twice in the top-5 nationally in assist rate

Austrie - 11.4 pts, 4.2 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 1.9 turnovers

what team got to the final 4? fthat

marcus got fat in the nba

 

[LIuconn]

Quinn Cook at Duke is as close as I want to get to a “Craig austrie”

game manager who can knock down an open 3

 

[Burnsbros23]

We won’t know what we have at point to start next year. The hope is Cole is the real deal and that gaffney takes a major jump. But it will be a question mark. Let gaffney play the rest of the year so you have a better feel of what you have.

 

[JB75]

We have Cole and Gaffney. Bouk can also handle the ball and Adams will have to improve his handling skills

Not sold on Gaffney, Adams is shaky , bouk needs to tighten it up , we’re pinning a lot on Cole if AG doesn’t come back next year. Hope he lives up to all the hype he’s getting on this board. I’m personally not feeling too great about our situation next year if Ag bounces. Hope I’m Wrong but watching the last 4 years as fan will do that to someone

 

[bendm]

let's get a center and a shooter first please

 

[Slick]

Not singling anybody out, but man people are really underestimating what we have in RJ Cole.

Not sure what we have. He is going to be playing much bigger stronger and talentd players Then he was used to.

 

[amsterdamjade]

let's get a center and a shooter first please

I think we desperately need a sharp shooter bad. Like really really bad. It would open things up offensively dramatically.