Predicting starters, bench rotation, depth outlook for Huskies

[HuskyWarrior611]

Just based on what I have read as prevailing opinion. I completely understand the counterpoint. We have a ton of 6’7” talent and then we have four guards who are under 6’4” tall.

I thought McNeeley might start at the two guard but again prevailing (expert) opinion is that Mahaney and McNeeley will start.

In the end, I am only guessing and my comment was based on what has been published on some of the expert sites that may not know as much about the talent of Stewart and Ross as some of the regular posters on this board.

Ross to me is the only 6’7” player we have who seems to have the position athleticism and handle to really be an effective guard. But we have really never seen him handle the ball while being covered by a very good defender who picked him up three quarter court and made him work really hard to get where he wants.

Look in the end there are no right answers. But again only in my opinion AK is obviously a lock and I think McNeeley is too good a player and shooter not to start. Having AK and Liam as floor spacers will allow more creative combinations at the guard position.

When you have ten players that if split could create a competitive and more than likely top twenty team makes this conversation circular until we start the season.

And as mentioned, I know there a very good arguments to start Stewart but by all accounts Liam appears to be a one and done player. As a freshman Stewart was a role player who kept on getting better on a national championship team. But as a freshman at this point he was not as good as McNeeley.

Also think about Castle he was rated a bit lower than McNeeley and honestly IMO that early season injury set him back enough that we really did not see him at full capacity until the last month of the season and he was terrific and easily won FOY in the BE playing at less than 100%. I wonder how good a season he would have had if he never had the minor injury.

But we have a great staff and am confident than when they rolled out the balls for the first practice Danny probably send something along the lines of nothing is guaranteed each of you will earn every game minute you get.

I think he and the staff is best in class at communicating with players about what they need to do on the court in practice and when they get game time and then coaching them up all year and if they hit the expected targets they see game minutes. If they do not they are shown and why it is explained and then the coaching staff does everything they can to get the player to hit those marks.

I feel this way because we have some elite level talent that did not go portaling. I mean how many schools do you think tried to pry Solo, Stewart and Ross away during the off season yet they all thought staying was a better choice.

Some of it I think has to do with potentially being part of a historic three peat but 19 year olds at least most of them are not thinking legacy they are thinking get me on the court so I can show the NBA scouts what I can do.

Imagine being Ross and knowing NBA scouts are asking about you after attending practices and then not even sniffing the floor. Yet I never heard he was thinking about leaving.

Aye if Mahaney starts based on what we’ve seen at open practice and the summer workout results I don’t ever want to hear that every minute is earned line again.

If that is true then Solo Ball is the starter based on every public thing we’ve seen this summer. If Mahaney starts then it’s been decided he was going to start the moment he got here and it was handed to him.

The practice awards were very public to see. Solo even finished above Diarra in the 2nd summer session only behind AK. He’s earned his spot.

 

[Hunt for 7]

Aye if Mahaney starts based on what we’ve seen at open practice and the summer workout results I don’t ever want to hear that every minute is earned line again.

If that is true then Solo Ball is the starter based on every public thing we’ve seen this summer. If Mahaney starts then it’s been decided he was going to start the moment he got here and it was handed to him.

The practice awards were very public to see. Solo even finished above Diarra in the 2nd summer session only behind AK. He’s earned his spot.

Actually I agree with you but that does not seem to be the prevailing opinion.


People are regularly getting blasted on this board for suggesting Mahaney won’t be a starter. I wish he was more of a point guard than he is. But from what I have seen he has not usually been the primary ball handler.

Next level NBA, see Solo having way more upside. He may be 6’3” but (I am guessing) has a wingspan greater than 6’7”. He is a ++ athlete with a good shooting stroke.

 

[navery12]

Aye if Mahaney starts based on what we’ve seen at open practice and the summer workout results I don’t ever want to hear that every minute is earned line again.

If that is true then Solo Ball is the starter based on every public thing we’ve seen this summer. If Mahaney starts then it’s been decided he was going to start the moment he got here and it was handed to him.

The practice awards were very public to see. Solo even finished above Diarra in the 2nd summer session only behind AK. He’s earned his spot.

Or maybe the coaches are basing it off of months of practice and not a 2 hour window of a single practice fans saw. At this point I think your whole shtick has to be a troll, nobody is this ignorant

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Or maybe the coaches are basing it off of months of practice and not a 2 hour window of a single practice fans saw. At this point I think your whole shtick has to be a troll, nobody is this ignorant

Those rewards were given based on months of practice. To players like Karaban and Diarra outside of Solo.

Mahaney was tied for 3rd in the summer session with Liam and Ross. Then he didn’t medal for the second part.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Actually I agree with you but that does not seem to be the prevailing opinion.


People are regularly getting blasted on this board for suggesting Mahaney won’t be a starter. I wish he was more of a point guard than he is. But from what I have seen he has not usually been the primary ball handler.

Next level NBA, see Solo having way more upside. He may be 6’3” but (I am guessing) has a wingspan greater than 6’7”. He is a ++ athlete with a good shooting stroke.

Agreed. His talent mixed with how he’s been getting recognized for his time in practice makes it seem like he’s earned the spot.

 

[IndyLives]

Aye if Mahaney starts based on what we’ve seen at open practice and the summer workout results I don’t ever want to hear that every minute is earned line again.

If that is true then Solo Ball is the starter based on every public thing we’ve seen this summer. If Mahaney starts then it’s been decided he was going to start the moment he got here and it was handed to him.

The practice awards were very public to see. Solo even finished above Diarra in the 2nd summer session only behind AK. He’s earned his spot.

Mahaney not as advertised?? This would be very worrisome to our 3-Peat chances...

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Mahaney not as advertised?? This would be very worrisome to our 3-Peat chances...

Not saying he’s not as advertised. Just that Solo has seemed to practice better. Which I feel like would be a good thing since he is the more talented player with a higher ceiling like Hunt said.

 

[Ricker]

I think Karaban is the only sure starter. I suspect Hurley will settle on a starting lineup and stubbornly just stick with it. If a bench player is more productive than a starter, the minutes during the game will reflect that, but the starters likely will stay pretty consistent. My interest is more in the allocation of the overall minutes, rather than who starts. I am curious and hopeful that with such a deep team, the minutes and who plays will vary significantly according to the opponent's strengths and style of play.

Backcourt
I can't see Diarra, Ball, Mahaney, or Nowell, dealing with Kadary Richmond or other guards that have a Gillespie back down game.
Creighton as an example has another 6'5 Schierman type deep shooter in the backcourt that I wonder if our backcourt can deal with.
Is Mahaney a lousy matchup defensively against Marquette quickness and desire to drive past him?
I can see games where minutes go to Ball/Diarra based on defensive quickness or McNeeley/Stewart for backcourt size, or even Abraham if his defense is strong because you don't want to lose Liam or Stewart to defensive fouls on backdowns.

Frontcourt/Centers
Xavier now has a power center in Hugley, will Johnson have the advantage with quickness or disadvantage being overpowered?
vs Nova, Dixon has power & an outside shot, but is smaller. Which center is the better matchup, or, is some Karaban at the 5 helpful?
When we play Kalkbrenner, who can neutralize him the best? I don't like either matchup on paper.
Does Hurley match power with Reed and quickness with Johnson during games, or just split the minutes and let things play out?
Will we seize opportunities to play Karaban at the 5 so we get Liam/Stewart/ and our guards on the court together?

Some years it's best to ignore the other team and have your team dictate how the game is played because you have a dominate center, or a huge team advantage in quickness that allows you to dictate the game with a defensive press. I think this is a year where we should match up to the other team's strength because we have the ability to do that and don't lose any offensive punch with any mix of our guys.

 

[navery12]

Those rewards were given based on months of practice. To players like Karaban and Diarra outside of Solo.

Mahaney was tied for 3rd in the summer session with Liam and Ross. Then he didn’t medal for the second part.

You are putting a ridiculous amount of stock in these meaningless awards they give out. It has nothing to do with who is getting a starting spot

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

You are putting a ridiculous amount of stock in these meaningless awards they give out. It has nothing to do with who is getting a starting spot

 

[UofCT]

You are putting a ridiculous amount of stock in these meaningless awards they give out. It has nothing to do with who is getting a starting spot

They didn’t seem meaningless to Hurley and the players when they talked about it throughout the summer. What is meaningless is your shtick of trolling every single thread you participate in.

 

[navery12]

Just look at the past winners of who's won this "award"

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Just look at the past winners of who's won this "award"

Last time I asked who they were you didn’t respond.

Does our best player being #1 mean nothing?

 

[superjohn]

Aye if Mahaney starts based on what we’ve seen at open practice and the summer workout results I don’t ever want to hear that every minute is earned line again.

If that is true then Solo Ball is the starter based on every public thing we’ve seen this summer. If Mahaney starts then it’s been decided he was going to start the moment he got here and it was handed to him.

The practice awards were very public to see. Solo even finished above Diarra in the 2nd summer session only behind AK. He’s earned his spot.

You okay?

 

[superjohn]

I think Karaban is the only sure starter. I suspect Hurley will settle on a starting lineup and stubbornly just stick with it. If a bench player is more productive than a starter, the minutes during the game will reflect that, but the starters likely will stay pretty consistent. My interest is more in the allocation of the overall minutes, rather than who starts. I am curious and hopeful that with such a deep team, the minutes and who plays will vary significantly according to the opponent's strengths and style of play.

Backcourt
I can't see Diarra, Ball, Mahaney, or Nowell, dealing with Kadary Richmond or other guards that have a Gillespie back down game.
Creighton as an example has another 6'5 Schierman type deep shooter in the backcourt that I wonder if our backcourt can deal with.
Is Mahaney a lousy matchup defensively against Marquette quickness and desire to drive past him?
I can see games where minutes go to Ball/Diarra based on defensive quickness or McNeeley/Stewart for backcourt size, or even Abraham if his defense is strong because you don't want to lose Liam or Stewart to defensive fouls on backdowns.

Frontcourt/Centers
Xavier now has a power center in Hugley, will Johnson have the advantage with quickness or disadvantage being overpowered?
vs Nova, Dixon has power & an outside shot, but is smaller. Which center is the better matchup, or, is some Karaban at the 5 helpful?
When we play Kalkbrenner, who can neutralize him the best? I don't like either matchup on paper.
Does Hurley match power with Reed and quickness with Johnson during games, or just split the minutes and let things play out?
Will we seize opportunities to play Karaban at the 5 so we get Liam/Stewart/ and our guards on the court together?

Some years it's best to ignore the other team and have your team dictate how the game is played because you have a dominate center, or a huge team advantage in quickness that allows you to dictate the game with a defensive press. I think this is a year where we should match up to the other team's strength because we have the ability to do that and don't lose any offensive punch with any mix of our guys.

Name me the Mark Jackson/Collin Gellespie point guards in college ball who will expose our guard. The Nova you're talking about no longer exists.

You're this freaked out by the one Kadary Richmond matchup?

Who is this Scheierman you're talking about?

Your post strikes me as weird. I'll take other teams trying to match up with us

 

[REB1094]

If Mahaney starts then it’s been decided he was going to start the moment he got here and it was handed to him.

This is why he was recruited, yes

 

[husky429]

I'd like to go a little deep on players by position if it helps the total understanding here.

Note: I live in Jersey City and for almost 18 years lived less than a block from St. Anthony and saw 5-6 home games each year so would see, but did not interact with, Bob, Bobby, Dan, and Andrew. That said, I played Tennis for UConn late 80s into the 90s and my very own couch did a 360 vertically the night we beat Clemson via Burrell ----------------> George <-> Swish.

5: candidates: Samson Johnson, Tarris Reed Jr, Youssouf Singare

Samson Johnson

• started for injured Clingan vs St. Johns, Depaul, Butler, Xavier, Georgetown, Crieghton, Villanova,
• the high scorer vs. St. John's 12/23/23
• post season was more than capable off the bench with double digit minutes except in the final
• 2x championship experience
• gives fouls to easy
• does not have defensive footwork to an acceptable level

Tarris Reed Jr

• started as a Sophomore after Hunter Dickenson transferred to Kansas.
• led the team in scoring multiple times
• fouled out of 2 games last year
• when McDaniel was not playing, Reed Jr was the go to scorer but faced double-teams as coach's could see this a mile away and days before. Doubtful he will be double-teamed playing for UConn
• FG % could use work for big man (51.8%)
• poor FT % (51.7%)
• prefers to play the 4 and was recruited as one.

Youssouf Singare

• 2x championship experience
• is 100% from the line (yes, 2-2 but still counts)
• has never played double digit minutes in a NCAA game (avg last year was 2.0 mpg)
• has taken 3 FGs in his career

There are two likelihoods here:
1) Reed Jr, and Johnson split fairly even minutes, game depending (fouls, who is hot, defensive assignments, etc)
2) Singare will move from 2.0 minutes to possibly 7-10 minutes
3) We could see Willis, Jr. at the 4 and Johnson at the 5 if Karaban gets into foul trouble.

4 candidates: Alex Karaban, Isaiah Abraham, Tarris Reed Jr.

Alex Karaban

• defacto starter and go-to scorer
• 2x champioship experience
• started in 2023-2024, played significantly in 2022-2023
• Could improve 3PT FG %
• not the most athletic PF

Isaiah Abraham

• so far, really great in practices
• 90th nationally by 247, but 76th nationally on their composite - 0.9698 suggests he was better than the 90th player.
• was not a top 10 player in HS, so is not guaranteed to start
• fits more at the 3 (6-7, 205)

Tarris Reed, Jr.
+ played Freshman year at the 4
- played Sophomore year at the 5

Nominally, we will have Karaban start, and if tired/fouls, we may see Reed Jr, but more likely we get 2 3s

3 candidates: Jaylin Stewart, Liam McNeeley, Jayden Ross, Isaiah Abraham

Jaylin Stewart

• Playing time increased over the season last year, and was a hero of the BE tourney.
• 2x championship experience
• CBS is listing as a starter
• Big time 3PT game - so far
• Played multiple games >9 min per game including 5 NCAA tourney games
• expected by many to make a huge jump
• sample size is somewhat small
• not sure if he can become a taller, more athletic Spencer no if that is fair to ask

Liam McNeeley

• #10 recruit
• Shot > 40% 3PT @ Montverde in NIBC and EYBL seasons.

- not super athletic

Jayden Ross
+ 2x championship experience
-has no played significant minutes

Isaiah Abraham

• fits better at the 3 than 4 (6'7 205 is more in line with the other 3s)
• great training camp by most accounts

- ranked 90th, but could see > minutes than Ross depending on Hurley and co's take on the 3 depth chart any given day.

Outcomes: We're going to see a lot of Stewart and a lot of McNeeley for sure. If Karaban gets into foul trouble or needs a break, Hurley could put both Stewart and McNeeley with Reed Jr or Johnson at center.

Unlikely that Ross/Abraham exceed 12 min per game

2 candidates: Aidan Maheney, Solomon Ball

Aidan Mahaney

• 2 year starter @ St. Mary's
• avg 12 pts per game
• did not make a Freshman to Sophomore leap (slight stat regression)
• tends to play down to his opponent

Solomon Ball

• Played meaningful minutes as a starter last year when Castle was out
• Played in 7/8 NCAA tourney games (x Alabama)
• CBS is listing as a starter

Outcomes: this is a toss up: Maheney was a starter for 2 years while Ball was a starter for 10 or so games and did not put up Maheney numbers. I think they split 50/50 in this role but as we saw last year, Newton/Castle/Spencer or Newton/Diarra/Castle so we could see 3 guards again and Ball and Maheney would work well.

1 candidates: Hassan Diarra, Ahmad Nowell

Hassan Diarra

• BE 6th man of the year 2023-24
• played double-digits in every game last year including NCAA tourney
• CBS lists as starting
• (19.3 min, 6.1 pts, 2.4 assists per game last year)
• 2x championship experience

- height (6'2" is not blocking a lot of 3s on the perimeter)

Ahmad Nowell

• Excellent training camp by all accounts
• 33rd best player 247 sports
• height (6'0")
• no college experience

Outcomes: Diarra starts with Nowell being first to spell him (rest/fouls) but we would reasonably see both on the court at the same time as Hurley had Diarra with Newton and Castle/Spencer for multiple minutes last year.

All feedback is welcomed.

Solid first post. I agree with about 90% of what you've written. Two places I'd disagree with:

Reed isn't going to play a second of the 4 for us. And he's surely aware of that considering how much he's raved about watching Adama's progression. Not enough perimeter skill. Plus we are DEEP at the 4 with AK sopping up 30mpg, and Abraham/Stewart looking to earn some time there as well. I have never heard Tarris was recruited to play the 4 at Michigan, nor do I recall him playing it his freshman year at all (but I did watch 23-24 games mostly, to be fair).

I don't think Ball and Mahaney is a close competition, frankly. Solo is a terrific athlete, but I think you're falling into the mid-major trap and forgetting that St. Mary's was a top-25 team. You don't average 14/3/3 on a top-25 team by accident. Mahaney wasn't playing for CCSU.

As much as I love Solo, he has a long, long way to go with his passing and ballhandling. 0.3APG for a guard is absolutely abysmal. For our system to work, our guards HAVE to be passers. I expect that will improve, but you don't turn from the worst passer on the team to a team leader in a season. That's a year-long project IMO.

 

[dennismenace]

That would be our best defensive lineup, but I'd be surprised if Mahaney and Liam come off the bench(would be insane depth on paper).

I kinda think Nowell edges out Ross for the last rotation spot. He's so good.

He already is a lockdown defender. If he can pick up the offensive system it will be difficult to keep him out of the game. And yeah he is that good and a real dog. Just thinking about him rotating with Diarra at PG will give opponent ballhandlers nightmares. I think he will surprise a lot of people. I am really impressed with him and Abrahams as talented high energy pressure guys and like the thought of them coming off the bench like Diarra did last year. We are not going to be a fun team to play if you are an opponent. Relentless.

 

[dennismenace]

Based I what I've seen. Think your projected starting lineup is solid. We have tons of young talent-esp. at the wing position. Danny is going to have plenty of flexibility to navigate game situations/foul trouble with this roster. At the end of the day- I believe we'll be able to score at will vs anyone. My concern is can we stop teams on the defensive side of the ball. And staying healthy.

I'm bullish on this team. We're just young and inexperienced at key positions other than our returners(tri-captains) and portal adds. Our talent is FF talent. Just a matter of matching up that talent/potential with effort and a few lucky bounces.

I think high octane offensive opponents are going to see more Nowell and Abrahams minutes against them. Hurleys options with this depth are going to bring nightmares to opponents. They are going to overwhelm teams once Hurley gets it figured how they fit best together. They lack experience but by Big East time they should be ready; maybe sooner.

 

[Hunt for 7]

They didn’t seem meaningless to Hurley and the players when they talked about it throughout the summer. What is meaningless is your shtick of trolling every single thread you participate in.

There are a few posters about four that he refrains from this MO. At first I thought putting him on ignore was the best tactic.

But that was like just letting the bully win without even offering any resistance. Made me feel like a schmuck.

So I decided I would try to respond and he found a way to troll me as being to sensitive when I responded.

Now I have realized if you ignore him and his responses understanding what is will all ways be seems to work for me.

I mean I know he is convinced we are all idiots, except for a few probably those who were in his class.

I now find humor, because being so smart and right is a heavy burden to bear and I am certain it weighs in(not on) him.

 

[navery12]

Last time I asked who they were you didn’t respond.

Does our best player being #1 mean nothing?

I don't remember you asking me that, your posts show up for me like 2 hours after they're time stamped so no idea what's happening.

In 2019 it was Brendan Adams who won, he was certainly not our best player and didn't even start

In 2021 it was RJ Cole, who you have said over and over again was overrated and not good. You might also notice Richie Springs with the bronze medal here, and who never saw the floor for meaningful minutes

The winners have been all over the place, sometimes it's our best players and sometimes it's guys who never see the floor. Because it's a meaningless award that's all about intangibles, not talent or who's gonna start

 

[Umami Zen]

I think high octane offensive opponents are going to see more Nowell and Abrahams minutes against them. Hurleys options with this depth are going to bring nightmares to opponents. They are going to overwhelm teams once Hurley gets it figured how they fit best together. They lack experience but by Big East time they should be ready; maybe sooner.

I share your optimism for the team and for Nowell/Abraham as legit two way players. Our depth is our strength. To me-The defensive solution (pre-season) appears to be more team D/help D than having a defensive stopper(ala Steph) or an exceptional rim protector (ala Donovan). They were tremendously effective in how they could impact a game on the defensive side of the ball. Would be glad to see some returners step up their D. Our O is gonna be fine. Plenty of scoring options within the context of our offensive sets/schemes.

Different team-different roster-different year. Looking forward to the season.

 

[Ricker]

Name me the Mark Jackson/Collin Gellespie point guards in college ball who will expose our guard. The Nova you're talking about no longer exists.

You're this freaked out by the one Kadary Richmond matchup?

Who is this Scheierman you're talking about?

Your post strikes me as weird. I'll take other teams trying to match up with us

I bow to your wisdom.
No sense in advocating a larger stronger defender on guards like Kadary Richmond. I stand corrected.
No sense in considering taller defenders on 6'6 shooting guards. That would be weird.
Evidently the Nova I'm talking about with a 6'8 center doesn't exist? Dixon announced he was coming back, and I verified he is listed on the 2024-25 roster as of 5 min ago but whatever, its just my imagination.

Fedor Žugić from Podgorica, Montenegro the 6-foot-6 guard was a member of the Montenegro U20 team that won a bronze medal at the FIBA U20 European Championships, averaging 18 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game to land a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
After watching clips of him, by size and deep shooting he seems similar to a Scheierman. Will it translate to ncaa ball in the Big East, unknown. Never the less, whether it is him or somebody else, we will have larger 2 guards to deal with in some games. I just didn't realize Mahaney was as good a defensive answer as necessary, my bad again.

 

[AllHusky]

I bow to your wisdom.
No sense in advocating a larger stronger defender on guards like Kadary Richmond. I stand corrected.
No sense in considering taller defenders on 6'6 shooting guards. That would be weird.
Evidently the Nova I'm talking about with a 6'8 center doesn't exist? Dixon announced he was coming back, and I verified he is listed on the 2024-25 roster as of 5 min ago but whatever, its just my imagination.

Fedor Žugić from Podgorica, Montenegro the 6-foot-6 guard was a member of the Montenegro U20 team that won a bronze medal at the FIBA U20 European Championships, averaging 18 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game to land a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
After watching clips of him, by size and deep shooting he seems similar to a Scheierman. Will it translate to ncaa ball in the Big East, unknown. Never the less, whether it is him or somebody else, we will have larger 2 guards to deal with in some games. I just didn't realize Mahaney was as good a defensive answer as necessary, my bad again.

Ricker, your first post about our guards defensive weakness gave me pause. My thought is that Nowell and Diarra will give anyone they guard heck, Ball as noted is a superior athlete who should translate to a lockdown guy, with the same effect that Nowell, Diarra have on the game. Leaves Mahaney, who I don’t know enough about to guess. Seems like we should be ok.

 

[superjohn]

I bow to your wisdom.
No sense in advocating a larger stronger defender on guards like Kadary Richmond. I stand corrected.
No sense in considering taller defenders on 6'6 shooting guards. That would be weird.
Evidently the Nova I'm talking about with a 6'8 center doesn't exist? Dixon announced he was coming back, and I verified he is listed on the 2024-25 roster as of 5 min ago but whatever, its just my imagination.

Fedor Žugić from Podgorica, Montenegro the 6-foot-6 guard was a member of the Montenegro U20 team that won a bronze medal at the FIBA U20 European Championships, averaging 18 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game to land a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
After watching clips of him, by size and deep shooting he seems similar to a Scheierman. Will it translate to ncaa ball in the Big East, unknown. Never the less, whether it is him or somebody else, we will have larger 2 guards to deal with in some games. I just didn't realize Mahaney was as good a defensive answer as necessary, my bad again.

Wisdom?

Nova ain't Nova anymore.

We exploit matchups now.