Rahsool Diggins transferring (merged threads)

[HuskyFich]

No he’s not. Just because you see a 6’7 guy grab a rebound and start a fast break don’t make him a point guard. We didn’t even see the kid on the court to even say who was better, he was 6’2 freshman AJ is a 6’7 sophomore who be out of control.

Do we really distrust Hurley that much?

Like I get the "play him more" party, but do we really think Hurley is participating in malpractice of this level?

Do better, man.

 

[wheelerdog]

I'm glad Rasool figured out he has to go a level down to become the player he's supposed to be now unlike Gaff who took 3 years.

With that said, I hope Sool goes to the A-10 or Temple personally. Just anyone but Xavier

Why not Xavier?

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Why not Xavier?

I'm with @ThabeetDown, anyone but Xavier. Always hate to give ex-players several chances to show out against you.

 

[Incursio007]

We’ll miss his recruiting. Agent Sool was a stud.

 

[uconngb]

Dre is a unicorn--Special and different-- Sool is in one lane -- PG.. Hope he finds a landing spot that he can express his talents at.

A unicorn?? Really?? In what way? If he was that good he’d be gone already. He’s not even close to Bouknight and he left after his sophomore year.

What is with the hyperbole for this guy?? Sick athlete yes. But so far has been a pretty middling basketball player.

 

[wheelerdog]

I'm with @ThabeetDown, anyone but Xavier. Always hate to give ex-players several chances to show out against you.

Yea but the consensus here seems to be he can't play at this level. So why would you care?

 

[husky429]

No he’s not. Just because you see a 6’7 guy grab a rebound and start a fast break don’t make him a point guard.

"Just because he played point guard don't make him a point guard" is basically what you're saying

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Yea but the consensus here seems to be he can't play at this level. So why would you care?

I'm not the consensus, and nothing is set in stone as far as player development.

'Sool leaving is much more a case of him not being ready than never being able. Once he grows up a bit, who knows... In a situation where he can work out his warts, he can become something.

 

[CTisballers]

Andre ran the point a lot last year, in the half court, when we played Cole off ball. And our offense was actually pretty good when he did.

Exactly why we will didn’t get far in the tournament

 

[CTisballers]

What about how he had 42 assists over the last 10 games of the season when he was tasked with running the offense more?

Bro stats is over rated

I feel like you completely missed the second half of the season. Andre ran point most of the time he was on the court and did well, especially late in the year. Sool was totally lost in the limited playing time he got.

I watched every single game. And like I said just because you can run the floor and dish don’t make you a point guard. Rahsool was a freshman on the bench waiting his turn. Being in the floor for 1 minute every 5 games isn’t enough to say AJ is a better point guard cus he’s not.

 

[CTisballers]

I don’t care how many dislikes I get because he’s not a true point guard.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Bro stats is over rated

I watched every single game. And like I said just because you can run the floor and dish don’t make you a point guard. Rahsool was a freshman on the bench waiting his turn. Being in the floor for 1 minute every 5 games isn’t enough to say AJ is a better point guard cus he’s not.

Personally, I didn’t want to see you transfer and I hope it works at your next spot. I’ll be rooting for you as long as you’re not in the Big East.

 

[CTisballers]

Thank you for your interest in UConn basketball

Yup no problem. None of you guys who say he’s a better pg then Diggins dont know about basketball.

 

[FlippinCrazy!]

Bro stats is over rated

I watched every single game. And like I said just because you can run the floor and dish don’t make you a point guard. Rahsool was a freshman on the bench waiting his turn. Being in the floor for 1 minute every 5 games isn’t enough to say AJ is a better point guard cus he’s not.

Rahsool also turned it over like 5 times in 1 minute when he got his turn.

What exactly did Jackson not do that Rahsool would’ve at the point? Cuz according to you, jackson can run the floor, is good at fast breaks, grab rebounds, and dish the ball.

I don’t think anyone is really saying jackson should be our primary PG obviously. But he was the best option we had last year after Cole. Rahsool just wasn’t ready, and Gaffney just didn’t work out either.

 

[FlippinCrazy!]

Yup no problem. None of you guys who say he’s a better pg then Diggins dont know about basketball.

None of you guys don’t know about basketball… thanks I guess?

 

[Huskyforlife]

Bro stats is over rated

I watched every single game. And like I said just because you can run the floor and dish don’t make you a point guard. Rahsool was a freshman on the bench waiting his turn. Being in the floor for 1 minute every 5 games isn’t enough to say AJ is a better point guard cus he’s not.

Well if he was stuck in the floor, that would explain a lot.

 

[Jbirdp5]

Yup no problem. None of you guys who say he’s a better pg then Diggins dont know about basketball.

Hard to say someone’s better when they never played, how do you know diggins is better?

 

[djct1999]

I don't think a coach ever says to his players that they won't play. He probably frames it by saying here's what you need to do, here's what I need from you, if you want to get more playing time. I'm sure Hurley didn't want either to transfer so he would never say you're not going to play and force them out.

I have no idea how Hurley spelled it for them. In general though, I couldn’t disagree more. I know firsthand there are some coaches who are quite specific. If I had to guess I would think Hurley was somewhere in the middle. I would doubt he gave an exact number but confident he painted a rather realistic but bleak path to anything significant. To me, both were after the fact decisions. Meaning they heard the plans for the future, they recognized they weren’t a part of it, and both sides felt it was best to move on. I believe this did not catch the staff by surprise and for the direction they went to take this team, best for everyone. The narrative on the boneyard that the world around Hurley is collapsing because two kids who barely saw the floor last year and are most likely mid major talents is a bizarre as it gets. Can’t wait to put this one behind us.

 

[rip7774]

The narrative on the boneyard that the world around Hurley is collapsing because two kids who barely saw the floor last year and are most likely mid major talents is a bizarre as it gets. Can’t wait to put this one behind us.

Agree with most of what you said, but I think there are definitely cracks appearing in Hurley is the guy argument. I want him desperately to succeed, but I don't know how you go into last season without another guard. We had a really nice mix, if you gave them another guard they'd have won multiple NCAA games.

And I said it all offseason, I don't understand how we're all UConn fans and think we can reach for the mountains with an overachieving yet amazing warrior as basically our only guard, when almost all our great teams had multiple impactful lead guards and not "I hope they become serviceable" as many preached re Gaffney (who should have only played the 2) for years. Serviceable ain't getting it done, especially in March. We should all know better, we've seen our guys do it over and over again!

He's so stubborn and too loyal to undertalented players and plays an outdated lineup. I live in $EC country, transfers are part of the game, for Hurley to beat his chest about culture and no transfers ever nonsense is not in this era. These transfers do nothing but help us ultimately by bringing in more ready for Hurley (in case of Diggins) and more impactful/less timid (Gaffney).

It seems he learns each offseason so that's a positive but he doesn't have forever when he's losing round 1 and 2. He's gotta stop worrying about undertalented vets playing time, get the best players that are good culture guys and let the best man win. We all saw how bad our starters struggled to score to begin games virtually ALL SEASON. It's not that hard.

 

[karstenkibbe]

I have no idea how Hurley spelled it for them. In general though, I couldn’t disagree more. I know firsthand there are some coaches who are quite specific. If I had to guess I would think Hurley was somewhere in the middle. I would doubt he gave an exact number but confident he painted a rather realistic but bleak path to anything significant. To me, both were after the fact decisions. Meaning they heard the plans for the future, they recognized they weren’t a part of it, and both sides felt it was best to move on. I believe this did not catch the staff by surprise and for the direction they went to take this team, best for everyone. The narrative on the boneyard that the world around Hurley is collapsing because two kids who barely saw the floor last year and are most likely mid major talents is a bizarre as it gets. Can’t wait to put this one behind us.

I actually don’t know what to think. I can’t imagine that Hurley wanted/expected both of his PGs to transfer out… unless the staff had already put the wheels in motion for at least one quality PG thru the portal. While I’m sure Hurley & Co have done their homework, I don’t think that’s the case.

I do believe that the staff whiffed on Sool. I don’t care that he only saw the floor with his fellow reserves, as some argue. You need a vision test if you think he was ready for high D1. He simply wasn’t. Gaffney’s development didn’t stall. He regressed. That’s on Jalen as much as it is on the staff. Bottom line… the jury is out on Hurley’s roster management. In my mind, he’s already guilty of negligence in that area. If he fails in the portal, it’s all on him, but I don’t expect him to own it.

 

[djct1999]

Agree with most of what you said, but I think there are definitely cracks appearing in Hurley is the guy argument. I want him desperately to succeed, but I don't know how you go into last season without another guard. We had a really nice mix, if you gave them another guard they'd have won multiple NCAA games.

And I said it all offseason, I don't understand how we're all UConn fans and think we can reach for the mountains with an overachieving yet amazing warrior as basically our only guard, when almost all our great teams had multiple impactful lead guards and not "I hope they become serviceable" as many preached re Gaffney (who should have only played the 2) for years. Serviceable ain't getting it done, especially in March. We should all know better, we've seen our guys do it over and over again!

He's so stubborn and too loyal to undertalented players and plays an outdated lineup. I live in $EC country, transfers are part of the game, for Hurley to beat his chest about culture and no transfers ever nonsense is not in this era. These transfers do nothing but help us ultimately by bringing in more ready for Hurley (in case of Diggins) and more impactful/less timid (Gaffney).

It seems he learns each offseason so that's a positive but he doesn't have forever when he's losing round 1 and 2. He's gotta stop worrying about undertalented vets playing time, get the best players that are good culture guys and let the best man win. We all saw how bad our starters struggled to score to begin games virtually ALL SEASON. It's not that hard.

You aren’t wrong. The one question I have is by what metric do you use to evaluate Hurley as having cracks? He brought UConn back to relevance in three years, has us nationally ranked, is a top notch recruiter, and is always able to put together a high quality staff. I think too many on here drink the koolaide of unrealistic expectations. For me, every thing Hurley has done so far is on course and remains a great fit for this job. Does that mean he is perfect? Nope. Far from it. Until now he has used a similar recipe that brought him success at Wagner and URI. That’s is good to a point but he undoubtedly has to evolve as a coach to get UConn over the hump. Rather than crucify him for a job that was rather well done, I say give him some more time. The irony in all of this is the first step in evolution is recognizing your mistakes and cutting bait with what doesn’t work. He did that this offseason and is still getting slammed. So my biggest gripe on here is he is getting criticized for his mistakes and also getting slammed for trying to fix it. Which is it?

 

[Umami Zen]

A unicorn?? Really?? In what way? If he was that good he’d be gone already. He’s not even close to Bouknight and he left after his sophomore year.

What is with the hyperbole for this guy?? Sick athlete yes. But so far has been a pretty middling basketball player.

Guess we're not watching the same guy.

 

[Huskybass]

I actually don’t know what to think. I can’t imagine that Hurley wanted/expected both of his PGs to transfer out… unless the staff had already put the wheels in motion for at least one quality PG thru the portal. While I’m sure Hurley & Co have done their homework, I don’t think that’s the case.

I do believe that the staff whiffed on Sool. I don’t care that he only saw the floor with his fellow reserves, as some argue. You need an eye test if you think he was ready for high D1. He simply wasn’t. Gaffney’s development didn’t stall. He regressed. That’s on Jalen as much as it is on the staff. Bottom line… the jury is out on Hurley’s roster management. In my mind, he’s already guilty of negligence in that area. If he fails in the portal, it’s all on him, but I don’t expect him to own it.

The portal taketh away and the portal giveth. If all we lose is Diggins and Gaffney, the portal will almost certainly be a net positive once the dust settles. Gaffney needs a change of scenery. Diggins situation is still confusing though. Here's a kid who clearly has leadership and point guard skills, yet his Freshman year was a waste. His playing time was limited and I don't recall him getting many opportunities to play with a solid squad around him, he was relegated to mostly garbage time. We are left to wonder if he could have helped IF he had been given regular minutes to give Cole a breather, here and there. I think the kid is more skilled than we saw, my guess is that he will turn out to be a pretty good PG somewhere once his role is established and he gets some much needed game experience.

The portal is loaded with opportunities to strengthen the roster with a couple of impact transfers. Hurley needs to start winning some games in March. Two total NCAA tourney wins in 12 years as a Head Coach is a little underwhelming to be honest. Here's to hoping we see some growth in terms of roster management and in game coaching next season. The Ollie era guys are now gone, and we have several open spots to fill via the portal. The opportunity is certainly there.

 

[imno1]

Is it possible that CFjr consistently outplayed our outgoing guards in practice?

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

Is it possible that CFjr consistently outplayed our outgoing guards in practice?

Yes, certainly possible.