Rocket Watts?

[husky429]

Didn’t @husky429 say he made only 9 layups? He shot 25.3% from 3. 33.6% from the floor. He’s only 6’2. His PER is 6.9. Brendan Adams was 8.9 last year. Watts was worse than every guard on our roster. By a lot. He was better as a freshman, but still I don’t see how he is what we need.

Almost positive--I wouldn't quote me though. He is certainly a guy who doesn't finish at the rim well. He has a decent floater, but goes to it way too much judging by his %s.

 

[navery12]

Almost positive--I wouldn't quote me though. He is certainly a guy who doesn't finish at the rim well. He has a decent floater, but goes to it way too much judging by his %s.

He shot 14/45 on shots at the rim so it sounds about right. Basically right on par with Cole (17/46) and Gaffney (16/39)

 

[husky429]

He shot 14/45 on shots at the rim so it sounds about right. Basically right on par with Cole (17/46) and Gaffney (16/39)

We are going to have problems with shots at the rim outside of Sanogo next year (and hopefully Whaley if he's back to form).

We really don't have anyone who can get to the cup and score 1v1 reliably. Hawkins could be that guy eventually but the handle isn't there. Hopefully Jackson and Rese can step it up too. But from the PG SG spots, we don't have much right now.

 

[Hungryhusky99]

We wouldnt only add Watts......add watts and shooters. It's really simple

What shooters do you think we are adding ?

 

[bendm]

His PER is 6.9. Brendan Adams was 8.9 last year. Watts was worse than every guard on our roster.

there is no way BA is better than watts.... BA also had no usage this year so dont get lost in PER. just look at these game logs for watts from march:

win v. #2 Michigan- 21 pts on 6/8 shooting; 4 asts; 2 TOs
win v. #5 Illinois- 15 pts on 5/11 shooting; 5 asts; 1 TO

those were easily his two best games but MSU won them because of him. he's not consistent but he has talent. BA was not leading us to victory against any top 5 teams i'm sorry

 

[superjohn]

We are going to have problems with shots at the rim outside of Sanogo next year (and hopefully Whaley if he's back to form).

We really don't have anyone who can get to the cup and score 1v1 reliably. Hawkins could be that guy eventually but the handle isn't there. Hopefully Jackson and Rese can step it up too. But from the PG SG spots, we don't have much right now.

I expect Jackson to be a different player next year and Gaff to make a leap.

 

[Psolo12]

Cole is slower than half of us on here, I don’t follow Rocket but is he real quick? We need a guy that can break down his man. If he’s really quick I’d take him. Wanted Fatts. He was a monster when healthy as a junior. We mentored a starter at URI so watch a ton of their games. Don’t @ me about his senior year, Fatts was hurt most of the year.

Cole is a decent shooter but plays with the quicks of us middle aged Y hoopers.

You actually think someone here is faster than Rj Cole? This just shows how little you know about high level athletics.

 

[bendm]

You actually think someone here is faster than Rj Cole? This just shows how little you know about high level athletics.

seeing as how over 50% of the people on here are over 40, per the recent poll, i'm giving him the benefit of the doubt that it was sarcasm

 

[UCSouth]

seeing as how over 50% of the people on here are over 40, per the recent poll, i'm giving him the benefit of the doubt that it was sarcasm

Sarcasm doesn't convey very well with some people. And it shows!

 

[FlippinCrazy!]

Do people seriously not want watts... I get it we need someone that can shoot, but geez some of these takes are ridiculous. To the guy saying BA was better than watts lmaooooo

 

[Fishy]

You actually think someone here is faster than Rj Cole? This just shows how little you know about high level athletics.

Son, I would dust RJ Cole in a race*.

* Race would have to be long enough for him to get tired and me to catch up.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

We wouldnt only add Watts......add watts and shooters. It's really simple

In what order would you rank Russell, Richmond, and Watts for their ability to penetrate, kick out, and otherwise quickly move the ball to teammates in good position to take better shots than so many we saw this past season?

Locke seemed to be your most preferred shooter. Who next, now that he has committed to Louisville?

 

[dennismenace]

It's all right there. If we assume the OP's information is legit, Watts believes he can't play in Izzo's system. He wants off the ball. Maybe he believes he'll be much more efficient as a finisher than a creator.

I'd take him. He's excellent on the break, creates tons of fouls, and is a + defender.

Take your word that he is an A + defender (and Hurley's interest). These stats for shooting are really horrible though. This sounds like Izzo has him properly defined (by results) vs what HE WOULD LIKE TO BE. Both FG and 3 Pt percentages went down from freshman to sophomore year.

stats:

FG	FG%	3 PT	3PT %
93-239 2019-20	38.9	34-121	28.1
81-241 2020-21	33.6	22-87	25.3

 

[HuskyHawk]

there is no way BA is better than watts.... BA also had no usage this year so dont get lost in PER. just look at these game logs for watts from march:

win v. #2 Michigan- 21 pts on 6/8 shooting; 4 asts; 2 TOs
win v. #5 Illinois- 15 pts on 5/11 shooting; 5 asts; 1 TO

those were easily his two best games but MSU won them because of him. he's not consistent but he has talent. BA was not leading us to victory against any top 5 teams i'm sorry

No, I don’t mean that he’s actually better. Just that Watts wasn’t good. Can he be good? Maybe. Kentucky is interested so perhaps. But he is very far off from what we need. I expect Diggins to be a guy who can beat his man but who isn’t a great shooter.

 

[mauconnfan]

It's funny I didn't sit and watch MSU games for long periods at a time so I never saw the fact he had trouble shooting. Early on in the year I was impressed with a couple of games I saw and his abilities, quickness. I mean he "looks" better than who we have quite honestly but the numbers don't reflect what we need. Not sure where I stand here but man he looked really good at times.

 

[ARIDE]

A guy at my work saw my UConn shirt (on Zoom) and it turned into a great convo.. he is Michigan St grad and said Rocket Watts was leaning toward either UConn or Baylor.

Izzo wanted him to be more of a pure point guard, pass first shoot second and it didn’t work out. …Rocket’s strengths are scoring and shooting... he needs the right fit.

would he be good for us?

Has anybody heard anything else about this?

Why do we want mich st throw aways? Please, better off with what we got and whats coming. Get me a really good 3.

 

[husky429]

I think this interest makes a lot more sense with Polley in the fold. We probably aren't getting a high-level shot creator. And with a great shooter.in the fold Rocket's shooting woes would be felt less.

I think Hurley would really need to be firm with not letting him go 30% from the field though... he may not interested in a more limited role.

 

[navery12]

Watts and Polley!

Now that Polley is back, sign me up

 

[GoatHouse]

I like Watts - his highlights at MSU indicate he has the talent and confidence to go get it. He needs a little polishing, but that's what coming to Hurley and UConn can do for him. As long as he's comfortable with fighting for his role, let's get him on board.

 

[RichZ]

Whenever I see or hear of a hoops player called Rocket, I think of Rod Foster from St. Thomas Aquinas in New Britain. Rocket Rod was 5-11 and 150 coming out of HS, but man could he fly. He had a 'growth spurt' over the summer after graduation, because UCLA called him 6-1 and 160.

 

[BFieldHusky]

Heard we have serious interest. Might be a roster crunch though. Staff is willing to sit on scholarships if need be.

 

[UconnU]

We are going to have problems with shots at the rim outside of Sanogo next year (and hopefully Whaley if he's back to form).

We really don't have anyone who can get to the cup and score 1v1 reliably. Hawkins could be that guy eventually but the handle isn't there. Hopefully Jackson and Rese can step it up too. But from the PG SG spots, we don't have much right now.

We don’t have enough offensively. Hawkins is going to have a shot at being like an 15+ppg freshman.

On the bright side we will be best offensive rebounding team in the country. With a real year of prep, without bs restrictions n such. I bet we convert those 2nd chance opportunities at a much better clip. No way we continue to get those horrid rolls.

 

[husky429]

We don’t have enough offensively. Hawkins is going to have a shot at being like an 15+ppg freshman.

On the bright side we will be best offensive rebounding team in the country. With a real year of prep, without bs restrictions n such. I bet we convert those 2nd chance opportunities at a much better clip. No way we continue to get those horrid rolls.

1 or 2 of Rese, Gaffney, and AJ are going to need to take pretty big leaps for us to be as good as the fans expect. I do think we can be a top 25 team regardless, but maybe notna team competing for a top seed in the NBE.

Hawkins stands the best chance of being a bouk-level contributor as a freshman of the incoming guys. But that's a tough task for ANY freshman. Especially one like Hawk who is a great shooter or straight line driver...but relies heavily on other guards to find him for shots. He isn't that 1v1 breakdown shot maker than Bouk was and never will be. If we can have a well-run offense with guys bought in to screening, cutting, etc. Then hawkins will thrive. If we return to the BS iso stuff we saw vs better teams last year, Hawkins is going to struggle. A lot depends on the offensive system with him.

Watta makes sense with Polley. We need an extra ballhandler and playmaker since Polley struggles with those. We aren't getting a high-level guard who can get an automatic 15ppg for us... so Watts, as long as his leash is SHORT, will be great. No brendan adams plan for this kid please.

 

[mauconnfan]

We don’t have enough offensively. Hawkins is going to have a shot at being like an 15+ppg freshman.

On the bright side we will be best offensive rebounding team in the country. With a real year of prep, without bs restrictions n such. I bet we convert those 2nd chance opportunities at a much better clip. No way we continue to get those horrid rolls.

Good point I actually see Whaley and Martin improving their finish percentages on put backs. At least we hope so.

 

[bendm]

Staff is willing to sit on scholarships if need be.

i'm glad this thread no longer hangs on a tipton edits tweet

No brendan adams plan for this kid please.

i think/hope that means hurley isnt going to take a warm body just for the sake of it