Rocket Watts?

[navery12]

RJ Cole is a fine player but you’re crazy if u think he’s a Jim Calhoun UConn level guard.

Even now I think he would be an incredible super sub John Gwynn type. I know he’ll be a starter and above average but we are above average a lot of places. No difference-makers at the 1-3. Freshman will have to be “dudes” for us.

you don’t win anything with a bunch of solid players. You need a guy that can win like all great UConn teams have had. This team can be terrific but not with our backcourt. Did you see Baylor?

I really have no idea where you're going with this because you're all over the place. If by UConn level guard you're talking about best player on a national championship team I agree.

But that's an unbelievably irrational definition. There has to some middle ground between John Gwynn and best player on a national championship team, I think even you'd agree with that

 

[HuskyHawk]

Yes that’s my hope. But some posters are saying not to Watts because we have Gaffney lok

They are saying no because he is a short guard that can’t shoot. Basically a worse shooting version of Alterique Gilbert. We need a long guard who can shoot. It’s not complicated. Gaffney, for what it is worth, is closer to that than Watts is.

 

[tzznandrew]

The problem with Cole is he's not really a point guard, and he really struggled shooting against good teams.

Games against USC/Creighton/Villanova/Maryland: 19% from 2, 31% from 3.
Games against everyone else: 44% from 2, 42% from 3.

He had three bad shooting games against Creighton (x2) and Nova (x1) where he went 4 for 19.

But it wasn't endemic against good teams. From 3, he shot 1 for 1 against Creighton in the BET and 3 for 7 against Maryland. He was also 2 for 5 against USC. So in those other three games he shot 6 for 13 (46%). Seems to me more the randomness of a season than some suggestion he couldn't get his shot off.

 

[BGesus4]

RJ Cole is a fine player but you’re crazy if u think he’s a Jim Calhoun UConn level guard.

Even now I think he would be an incredible super sub John Gwynn type. I know he’ll be a starter and above average but we are above average a lot of places. No difference-makers at the 1-3. Freshman will have to be “dudes” for us.

you don’t win anything with a bunch of solid players. You need a guy that can win like all great UConn teams have had. This team can be terrific but not with our backcourt. Did you see Baylor?

Yes. Wouldn’t have been the best guard under Calhoun obviously but also wouldn’t have been the worse.

we are better off with RJ Cole as our PG next year than we would be with Craig Austrie

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I really have no idea where you're going with this because you're all over the place. If by UConn level guard you're talking about best player on a national championship team I agree.

But that's an unbelievably irrational definition. There has to some middle ground between John Gwynn and best player on a national championship team, I think even you'd agree with that

It's especially weird in a thread about Rocket Watts, who has the potential to be a nice player but has not been a world-beater in two years at MSU and is not going to be junior year Kemba Walker or Ben Gordon or senior year Shabazz Napier.

 

[Huskyforlife]

I’m projecting into the future.

But you only think this because he had a nice number next to his name in high school. There's really no substantive reasoning to believe he'll ever be better than Gaffney, he's all potential.

 

[rip7774]

I really have no idea where you're going with this because you're all over the place. If by UConn level guard you're talking about best player on a national championship team I agree.

But that's an unbelievably irrational definition. There has to some middle ground between John Gwynn and best player on a national championship team, I think even you'd agree with that

What are we winning or can u have any hope of an elite 8 or better with Cole as ur best guard? He doesn’t have to be kemba or Bazz or AJP or BG4 but UConn isn’t having a great season with no guards that can beat their man.

whaley / akok / sanogo / Johnson is really really nice. I’d hate to squander it with average guard play is all.

I don’t know much about watts but he was a dynamite recruit and is still quick & scored 20+ against some elite teams. I’d take a chance on that in a nanosecond. I really wanted Fatts & Kadary.

 

[husky99]

Hearing that we are in the best shape with watts from the portal

 

[Huskyforlife]

Hearing that we are in the best shape with watts from the portal

As in leading for him or most likely player we get?

 

[superjohn]

Can someone explain what a UConn level guard is and what a Jim Calhoun level UConn guard is?

I've watched UConn basketball religiously for the last 30+ years and RJ Cole is better than a bunch of guards who played here and played for Calhoun when he coached here.

 

[navery12]

What are we winning or can u have any hope of an elite 8 or better with Cole as ur best guard? He doesn’t have to be kemba or Bazz or AJP or BG4 but UConn isn’t having a great season with no guards that can beat their man.

whaley / akok / sanogo / Johnson is really really nice. I’d hate to squander it with average guard play is all.

I don’t know much about watts but he was a dynamite recruit and is still quick & scored 20+ against some elite teams. I’d take a chance on that in a nanosecond. I really wanted Fatts & Kadary.

Yes I think this team is more than capable of getting to an Elite 8 with Cole as the best guard. And I hope we close on Watts as well, but I'm not sure what your point is because Cole would still be our best guard

 

[CardiacAndre7]

But you only think this because he had a nice number next to his name in high school. There's really no substantive reasoning to believe he'll ever be better than Gaffney, he's all potential.

What has Gaffney done really? I wouldn’t say one is necessarily better than the other. Gaff has 1 good game for every 5 no shows pretty much.

 

[HobokenHusky]

Hearing that we are in the best shape with watts from the portal

Nothing to back this up, but this just feels like it’s going to happen. Former recruit, can create off the dribble and get into the paint, rounds out the team with Whaley and Polley back.

 

[Kenny11]

Who? It doesn’t really seem we have that many options. Stand pat means stay as we are. No way.

Rocket Watts has skills that none of our players have. Fatts Russell wasn’t good enough for this board either. He’s headed to Maryland, a team that thumped us. We’ve got to get real. We need a dynamic player. Rocket is dynamic. He needs to be coached to choose shots more wisely, but he’s a natural slasher and creator. I watched MSU this year and I actually wished we had him. He’s a young player that needs coaching and practice. Rocket is by no means a finished product. He isn’t a grad transfer, he’s a kid.

A lot of this board seems to view transfers as damaged goods. Sometimes transfers have issues but most of the time that’s really not the case...especially after this past season where there was all sorts of difficulties for everyone..very mentally taxing. Cant blame a kid for having a bad year.

 

[Leebo]

I have no idea what having Watts on the team would actually be like, but I imagine it would be thought of as an impact transfer from outside perspectives.

 

[husky99]

As in leading for him or most likely player we get?

Not sure we lead (not heard either way) but compared to others we have the the best shot

 

[UconnU]

I think this may be the type of player you give an offer to while being completely upfront with them that they will have to come in and compete for any time. A hungry, competitive Rocket Watts intrigues me.

 

[UCfor3]

I think this may be the type of player you give an offer to while being completely upfront with them that they will have to come in and compete for any time. A hungry, competitive Rocket Watts intrigues me.

Up front or not, with the programs that have contacted him, he will have to compete for minutes with any/all of them. Some pretty heavy hitters on that list.

 

[Com'rGordon]

Hearing that we are in the best shape with watts from the portal

Interesting that you mentioned "from the portal", are we in shape with someone else not in the portal?

 

[AntG168]

But you only think this because he had a nice number next to his name in high school. There's really no substantive reasoning to believe he'll ever be better than Gaffney, he's all potential.

No he’s just a more fluent basketball player, with significantly better guard skills than Gaff. I think he was misused at Mich St. Gaffney is not a primary ball handler, Watts is

 

[AntG168]

Not sure we lead (not heard either way) but compared to others we have the the best shot

Good

 

[husky99]

Interesting that you mentioned "from the portal", are we in shape with someone else not in the portal?

Heard they might be looking overseas also...

 

[Hoophound]

They played out of their mind. Shot a crazy percentage. We played our D- game and were still in it. If we played ten times, UConn wins 7-8 of them. Maryland is not better than UConn.

Whole lot of crazy in here.

I didn’t say Maryland was better, but you are also way off in thinking that’s a crazy idea. It’s debatable. Maryland had 4 wins over ranked teams iirc. Did we have any?

 

[HuskyHawk]

Not sure we lead (not heard either way) but compared to others we have the the best shot

While I’ve been down on him coming here, I will say that after next season (22-23) we project to have one experienced, upperclassman guard. That’s an iffy position to be in. Don’t know how he really fits next year unless Diggins gets almost no minutes.

 

[Com'rGordon]

Heard they might be looking overseas also...