(Poll) Starting PG

[rayrayfor3]

In the first couple of games it seems like Cole is much more of a scorer than facilitator, whereas Gaff is the opposite. I'm not sure where the narrative came from that Cole was going to be a master facilitator as he was mostly a scorer at Howard. He deff can get buckets, though I like Gaff running the team. It reminds me almost a bit of Bazz/Boat.

 

[Excalibur]

I like both on the floor. RJ's role is more of a SG.

Remember some of those 3's for RJ came off Gaffney penetrating and kicking it out.

Cole needs to clean up the sloppy/lazy passes and make sure the movement of the ball doesn't stop when it hits his hands.

Cole is a better creator than you are giving him credit for being.

 

[CallMeBruce]

In the first couple of games it seems like Cole is much more of a scorer than facilitator, whereas Gaff is the opposite. I'm not sure where the narrative came from that Cole was going to be a master facilitator as he was mostly a scorer at Howard. He deff can get buckets, though I like Gaff running the team. It reminds me almost a bit of Bazz/Boat.

Cole's assist rate is significantly better than Gaffney's. Gaffney played a ton of minutes against Hartford and had the ball in his hands throughout, and had two assists, largely because he was mostly looking for his shot. He's sixth on the team in assist percentage, behind Jackson, Cole, Martin, Whaley, and Adams. What are you basing this on, other than your own feelings?

 

[WhereistheDove?]

I like Gaffney starting next to Bouk at the 2. That hedges against early foul trouble from the PG position and gives Hurley the option to bring in someone that can create on their own as the first man off the bench, which is especially important if the offense is looking a little stagnant on any given day.

 

[rayrayfor3]

Cole's assist rate is significantly better than Gaffney's. Gaffney played a ton of minutes against Hartford and had the ball in his hands throughout, and had two assists, largely because he was mostly looking for his shot. He's sixth on the team in assist percentage, behind Jackson, Cole, Martin, Whaley, and Adams. What are you basing this on, other than your own feelings?

RJ's 6 turnovers to Gaff's 1

 

[Huskymagic]

Bouk: 30-35 mpg (on the lower end of the range when a game gets out of hand)
Cole: 30 mpg
Gaff: 10-15 mpg
Adams: 10-15 mpg

You are implying that Cole is 2 or 3 times better than Gaffney based on that minute distribution. You don't supplant a guy who led the turnaround of the team with a transfer, especially when he isn't better to begin with.

Put some respect on Gaff's name.

#BigEastGaff
#FeedPolley

 

[SteelCT]

For all our size that’s a very small lineup

It is small, but we are talking about starters, or openers if you think about it like the new trend in baseball. That doesnt mean those are going to be the only guys getting minutes. The only person I am switching from the current starting line up is Martin for Polley...and I can argue Martin offers more “size” than Polley, despite the height difference. I believe he grabbed 10 boards off the bench against Hartford.

 

[navery12]

RJ's 6 turnovers to Gaff's 1

So a 2 game sample after Cole hasn't played in a year and a half?

 

[rayrayfor3]

So a 2 game sample after Cole hasn't played in a year and a half?

Correct, considering that's the only data we have to base it off of. I am not saying he is bad by any stretch I am just saying I like Gaff better in the "traditional" pg role and RJ working off the ball

 

[CallMeBruce]

RJ's 6 turnovers to Gaff's 1

This doesn't make Gaffney a facilitator. All it does is emphasize the fact that he is not, at this moment, generating offense for anyone but himself.

 

[navery12]

Correct, considering that's the only data we have to base it off of. I am not saying he is bad by any stretch I am just saying I like Gaff better in the "traditional" pg role and RJ working off the ball

But we have 2 seasons of Cole averaging 6 assists at Howard to base it off as well. I actually take the turnover stat the opposite way. There's been no chemistry between anyone on the court but Cole has been looking to facilitate and turned the ball over

 

[CTisballers]

Start Gaffney because he runs the Offense better then RJ. RJ turns the ball over a lot so just bring him off the bench for instance offense. Plus Gaffney is a better defender.

 

[auror]

Cole is our 2nd best scorer. He's the only guy other than Bouk that can consistently get buckets (maybe Sanogo, but he needs a little more setup). He's likely our best volume shooter. He also currently has double the assist rate % of Gaffney. They've both been bad on D so to me that is a wash.

I'm not sure where the narrative came from that Cole was going to be a master facilitator as he was mostly a scorer at Howard..

The narrative of Cole the facilitator came directly from Hurley quotes.

“R.J. is a tremendous offensive player,” Hurley, the former Seton Hall guard and onetime Rutgers assistant coach, said Thursday. “I compare him to a quarterback who gets the ball out on time. He just sees the floor, is a tremendous pick-and-roll, ball-screen player. Tremendous court vision and just very, very efficient offensive player that I think has the ability to make everyone around him better because of the way that he sees the floor, just how efficient he is in terms of how he uses his dribble.

I'm on team Cole.

 

[Excalibur]

Defense is definitely a wash. Cole looks to be a better scorer and facilitator. Someone mentioned Gaffney is a better finisher -- that may be the case though I don't think he's great at that either. Cole is stronger but is pretty floor-bound.

We need someone besides Bouk who can create their own shot. Cole is the only one who has shown to be capable of that. He needs to be on the floor for the majority of minutes, particularly when Martin is in the game (who isn't much of a threat outside of 15 feet).

If Cole shows that he can't handle the stepped-up competition in the Big East, then make a change. But if that is the case we are in some trouble regardless.

 

[BuffaloHusky]

I just think they really need to compete against one another. If one rises to the occasion then you have at the starter. If both raise their levels then you start the two of them together.

 

[Lefty2one]

It's a really tough question without a good answer right now. Hurley needs more time to figure it out. I hate to say it as I don't like to be pessimistic in November, but our point guard situation is going to determine the ceiling of this team and right now it doesn't look great. Cole is going to be an average, maybe slightly above average, offensive Big East point guard and a subpar defender. He can't be our second player; it's a major problem if he is.

What we really need is Andre Jackson to step up to the plate and be the best or second-best playmaker on this team. He's a gifted passer with great vision, we just need to give him time to come into his own. We've seen plenty of slow starts from freshman over the years (Bouk, Lamb, etc.) and hopefully Jackson follows suit.

Gaff
Bouk
Jackson
Akok (or Polley)
Whalley

This is where this team needs to be in March.

 

[NJHusky]

RJ's 6 turnovers to Gaff's 1

Exactly..Cole has an A/T ratio of 1.1 Gaffney's is 5 !

Cole's second only to Bouk in shot's taken...seems like you want the facilitator on the court with Bouk...plus they have a year playing together. Let Adams and Cole chuck up threes with the second group

 

[BlueDogs]

Cole, Bouk, Martin, Polley, Whaley.

Then bring in the energy line with Adams, Jackson, and Sanogo (leave in Bouk). Gaffney stabilizing force for Adams/Jackson and those more aggressive playmakers complement him compared to Martin/Polley.

In matchups where you need a 2nd big, keep Adams on the shelf and use Carlton.

Agree. But, I would be inclined to swap Sonogo for Polley with Martin on the floor to get the physicality we need .

 

[Watchdog]

Most here believe DH was the right hire and are thrilled with his choices for Assistant Coaches yet, after only two games, we have calls for heads to roll and players to be replaced in the lineup. It's 2020 so all sorts of things are messed up:
-two weeks of practice lost just before the start of the season;
-no practice games or closed scrimmages;
-loss of the team's two best guards and defenders;
-integration of two transfers, a redshirt freshman and three freshmen into the rotations;
-uncertain and disconcerting environment for players accustomed to order and certainty;
-coaches' needs to give the top players enough game action to see how they fit in and mesh with others.

 

[Excalibur]

Exactly..Cole has an A/T ratio of 1.1 Gaffney's is 5 !

Cole's second only to Bouk in shot's taken...seems like you want the facilitator on the court with Bouk...plus they have a year playing together. Let Adams and Cole chuck up threes with the second group

Since people are so eager to $HI+ on Cole, what exactly has Gaffney “facilitated”?

 

[Watchdog]

It's a really tough question without a good answer right now. Hurley needs more time to figure it out. I hate to say it as I don't like to be pessimistic in November, but our point guard situation is going to determine the ceiling of this team and right now it doesn't look great. Cole is going to be an average, maybe slightly above average, offensive Big East point guard and a subpar defender. He can't be our second player; it's a major problem if he is.

What we really need is Andre Jackson to step up to the plate and be the best or second-best playmaker on this team. He's a gifted passer with great vision, we just need to give him time to come into his own. We've seen plenty of slow starts from freshman over the years (Bouk, Lamb, etc.) and hopefully Jackson follows suit.

Gaff
Bouk
Jackson
Akok (or Polley)
Whalley

This is where this team needs to be in March.

Cole has been highly praised by coaches and players alike for his vision and ability to get the ball to the right player in the right place at the right time. He sat out a year, had no practice games or scrimmages, and now some here believe he has to make all the adjustments of playing at a higher level and meshing with 12 new teammates in two games.

Anyone who believes he should be immediately mistake free would have to believe DH must be foolish to have recruited him and his father must not have seen how inept Cole was when he somehow proved to be the most important player on his last high school team. If he doesn't make the adjustments and is still turning it over, getting beaten by his man, and not finding open teammates then he should be replaced, but let's give him some slack.

Maybe the right answer is Cole with Jackson as the two guard. Great passer and defender who can be the disrupter on defense and the slasher/dunker on offense, while Cole makes the outside shots and runs the offense.

 

[MuchoDogYears]

Here’s the thing. I like both “sophomore Gaffney”, and Cole, better than our PGs at any time last year. They each represent an upgrade at the position.

Would like to see one or the other elevate their overall game and win the position outright by the time the BE schedule starts. Bring the other off the bench for meaningful minutes.

 

[UconnU]

Ajax? definitely ahead of Adams at the 2 & 3

The 2 is really a stretch for him. He has a combo forward body and probably needs to play closer to the basket until he gets a semi-respectable shot.

 

[XLCenterFan]

Practice is where you earn it, and you haven't seen practice. So...nope. He had a whole year with the team last year.

I'd start Cole for now, but I think Dan needs a much quicker hook overall. He needs to preach defense and mean it. That means if a guy isn't giving everything on that end, yank him. Whether that is 2 minutes in, 5 minutes in, 10 minutes in, I don't care. We have depth enough to make sure that nobody is saving energy on the defensive end. I have not seen that kind of effort so far. I want guys to need a break after playing 5+ minutes.

Do you attend practices?

And from what I've seen in games, with my own eyes, Gaffney is just as good and the team runs well with him at point. He was building tremendously last year, with real in-game experience, not practice, and I felt like he was coming into his own and finding a great role within the lineup. I feel like he's being set back (almost back to being a true freshman), and our offense is off kilter at the moment with him and Cole starting (a starting lineup I don't love). I'd let the kid shine and sub in Cole.

 

[JB75]

I’m actually pretty impressed with Cole - especially the offensive part of his game. That three point jump shot is liquid and why are people saying he can’t distribute ? you see that pretty little pass he had to Sanogo Friday night? Don’t get me wrong I understand his defense isnt the greatest but it isn’t like gaffney is playing like Ricky moore out there. If you take the starting five, who besides bouk is going to hit a jumpshot ? Can’t count on polley right now and he brings zip to the table if he’s not splashing. we desperately need that second scorer, plus Cole has shown he can hit two or 3 treys in a row - which is huge. Besides that little sequence with Martin and Whaley late in the game Friday Cole was the reason why we opened that lead up. I’m rj all the way over gaffney. Gaff will be a solid player for us when all is said and done. Nothing wrong with that.