Rocket Watts?

[superjohn]

It's a strange case where I look at this team and it feels like we're 1 legit guard/wing away from being a top 15 team, and at the same time it's hard to find minutes for that guy

I think we'll be ranked around 15-18th as is, the right addition and they could be pushing top 10 preseason.

 

[rip7774]

If Hurley's confident enough in his culture, we don't need to be fretting someone leaves if we get a talent like Rocket.

As said ad nauseum, we need creators/guys that can get their own shot. It's why we struggled so much when Bouk was out - there simply isn't a single one (against good athletic teams re: cole) that can do it. Gaffney I'd wager improves if you bring in more competition.

 

[bendm]

we need creators/guys that can get their own shot.

is there anyone on the team we can rely on to consistently create a shot for either themselves or better yet someone else off dribble penetration? cole is a good passer but didnt demonstrate the ability to beat a guy one on one and get into the lane. i expect that to become the biggest strength of aj and diggins but i think rocket would be the best equipped to do it next year.

 

[Kmba2Rmemba]

To the moon

 

[UconnU]

Where are there even minutes at this point? If Watts had to sit a year I would get it with Cole & Martin likely gone after 2022 (maybe they do a fifth year, but I doubt it).

You already are juggling Cole, Gaff, Hawkins, and Diggins + maybe Andre at the two guard spots.

Sure there will be three guard lineups but there's also a log jam at the 3 between Tyrese, Andre, and Polley.

This team needs a fifth guard for depth in case someone gets injured. Maybe Watts is OK being that guy, but I don't see much PT left for a squad that is even deeper than the last season.

I think we should stand pat as well. If he was a high usage kid who could consistently make shots with range I would feel differently. I trust Gaffney to make necessary progression. He looked much better as the year went on.

 

[Hoophound]

I think we should stand pat as well. If he was a high usage kid who could consistently make shots with range I would feel differently. I trust Gaffney to make necessary progression. He looked much better as the year went on.

We lack talent. We will not get where we want to go without a dynamic guard that can get by people. I really hope Gaffney can become that guy, but even if he does, that means we only have one guy that can do it. We should have 3 or 4. Yes, Diggins and Hawkins will help, but they will be freshmen.

We have a pretty damn good team next year, but it is missing a guy that can penetrate and slash. Why on God’s green earth are so many people against getting better players? Stand pat? Why?

 

[Fatroony5]

We lack talent. We will not get where we want to go without a dynamic guard that can get by people. I really hope Gaffney can become that guy, but even if he does, that means we only have one guy that can do it. We should have 3 or 4. Yes, Diggins and Hawkins will help, but they will be freshmen.

We have a pretty damn good team next year, but it is missing a guy that can penetrate and slash. Why on God’s green earth are so many people against getting better players? Stand pat? Why?

I don’t think people are against adding talent. It’s more about fit and trajectory of said player. All of his advanced stats, percentages etc were pretty bad the past two seasons where he played at a high major school. Things change, guys can improve of course. Maybe a change of scenery will change him as a player and he’ll be what the team is missing. Other big name teams are on him so it’s certain possible. It’s just more of a risk then other dynamic guards they were targeting whose metrics seem to project better into the needs of the team.

 

[Hoophound]

I don’t think people are against adding talent. It’s more about fit and trajectory of said player. All of his advanced stats, percentages etc were pretty bad the past two seasons where he played at a high major school. Things change, guys can improve of course. Maybe a change of scenery will change him as a player and he’ll be what the team is missing. Other big name teams are on him so it’s certain possible. It’s just more of a risk then other dynamic guards they were targeting whose metrics seem to project better into the needs of the team.

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.

 

[Fatroony5]

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.

Adding another undersized guard like Fatts with the current roster construction didn’t really make a lot of sense. I thought a guy like Richmond made a lot of sense, bigger guard than can penetrate/break defenses down off the dribble, play defense, impact the game with his athleticism.

If Hurley thinks Rocket can project better than what he’s shown thus far, I’m for it. I get the talent aspect with him, not a ton of former top 40 guys floatin around out there. They have options tho, who exactly that is remains to be seen. Let’s give the staff some time, it’s April. they’ve shown they can evaluate talent and they seem to be focused on adding another guard. Not really all that worried right now.

 

[rip7774]

We lack talent. We will not get where we want to go without a dynamic guard that can get by people. I really hope Gaffney can become that guy, but even if he does, that means we only have one guy that can do it. We should have 3 or 4. Yes, Diggins and Hawkins will help, but they will be freshmen.

We have a pretty damn good team next year, but it is missing a guy that can penetrate and slash. Why on God’s green earth are so many people against getting better players? Stand pat? Why?

Well said. I can’t believe people don’t agree with this wholeheartedly!!! And like u said also... Fatts can dribble & Create on a diff level than anyone we have and Maryland thumped us and took him despite tons of players back!

what returning guard is a UConn-level guard????

 

[navery12]

Well said. I can’t believe people don’t agree with this wholeheartedly!!!

what returning guard is a UConn-level guard????

RJ Cole, who despite your claims otherwise is both a PG and good

 

[Dabutlerdidit]

The guy at the car wash is a hell of a source

In this case it was the guy on a zoom call ?

 

[AntG168]

Gaffney over Watts would be an incredible mistake

 

[UCfor3]

Everyone thinks and hopes Gaffney, AJax and the rest our guys will improve(I do as well for the record). Why can't we think the same of Watts as well? Kid has talent and offers a varied skillset to what we have. People here worry way too much about playing time distribution and starting lineups. If Hurley thinks another guard upsets a talented core player enough to make his eyes wander, then he won't make a move. He has the pulse of the team. Otherwise, we can really use another guard. A team should have 5 anyway and no, AJax is not a college guard right now I don't care what his projected pro position is a few years from now.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Gaffney over Watts would be an incredible mistake

Incredible is a stretch, Gaffney has been the better player so far.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

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.

“Maryland thumped us” in our worst offensively played game of the year to the tune of being up only 5 pts with less than 3min to play...

Using that conflation plus “Fatts going to Maryland” as some kind of calculus that we suck and also we’re desperate for quality dynamic players is peak BY logic.

Mind you, with all that being said I don’t disagree with you about UConn taking a flyer on Rocket.

 

[Hoophound]

“Maryland thumped us” in our worst offensively played game of the year to the tune of being up only 5 pts with less than 3min to play...

Using that conflation plus “Fatts going to Maryland” as some kind of calculus that we suck and also we’re desperate for quality dynamic players is peak BY logic.

Mind you, with all that being said I don’t disagree with you about UConn taking a flyer on Rocket.

Maryland was way better than us. The fact we made it slightly interesting is no consolation. I never thought we were winning that game down 5.

In regard to Fatts, my comment is more commentary on some board members thinking we didn’t need him. Maryland thinks they need him and they are better than us, and they have pretty good guards already. This idea that we have what we need is outrageous based on what we’ve seen. The idea that a “shooter” is the only need is downright ridiculous. We need better guards.

 

[navery12]

Maryland was way better than us. The fact we made it slightly interesting is no consolation. I never thought we were winning that game down 5.

In regard to Fatts, my comment is more commentary on the board members thinking we didn’t need him. Maryland thinks they need him and they are better than us, and they have pretty good guards already.

But again, you have to take in the full context of where he's going, and I wanted Fatts because I thought he was worth it. Maryland has a lot of good guards, but all of their guards are 6'3+ and that's a much easier fit to make than bringing him in with a 6'1 Diggins and Cole

 

[UCfor3]

Gaffney over Watts would be an incredible mistake

Can't we have both. There are 13 scholarships players in a normal year. We have 4 guards for 2 positions PG/SG(Cole,Gaff,Diggins,Hawkins) 3 SF for 1 position(AJax, Martin, Polley), 5 bigs for 2 positions C/PF (Sanogo, Whaley, Akok, Johnson, Springs). Everyone pretty much agrees that College is generally a guards game yet that is where we are the least deep. Does that make sense at all? Can't figure out why people think we are overloaded there. If not Watts, someone else.

 

[rip7774]

RJ Cole, who despite your claims otherwise is both a PG and good

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?

 

[Ajs120102]

Maryland was way better than us. The fact we made it slightly interesting is no consolation. I never thought we were winning that game down 5.

In regard to Fatts, my comment is more commentary on some board members thinking we didn’t need him. Maryland thinks they need him and they are better than us, and they have pretty good guards already. This idea that we have what we need is outrageous based on what we’ve seen. The idea that a “shooter” is the only need is downright ridiculous. We need better guards.

I mean we were 3 seeds better with an NBA lottery pick. No consolation taken but I get the point.

 

[SeattleHoop]

'Please watch this ...'

please read this, and explain why u think these shooting numbers will go up to, say, 45% fg and 37% 3 fg?

rw college stats, 55 games:
36% fg, 27% 3 fg.
but u are right, he is better than ag, so there's that. on the udder hand, last season, jalen's efg%, whatever that means, was 49% while mr watts' efg% was 38%. that's a pantload more, isn't it?

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What were Kemba’s shooting numbers his sophomore year compared to his Junior year? Percentages probably don’t tell the whole story especially when trying to predict improvement in a new system. The mental side of the game is such a huge factor when it comes to game performance

 

[HuskyHawk]

Maryland was way better than us. The fact we made it slightly interesting is no consolation. I never thought we were winning that game down 5.

In regard to Fatts, my comment is more commentary on some board members thinking we didn’t need him. Maryland thinks they need him and they are better than us, and they have pretty good guards already. This idea that we have what we need is outrageous based on what we’ve seen. The idea that a “shooter” is the only need is downright ridiculous. We need better guards.

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.

 

[AntG168]

Incredible is a stretch, Gaffney has been the better player so far.

I’m projecting into the future.

 

[AntG168]

Can't we have both. There are 13 scholarships players in a normal year. We have 4 guards for 2 positions PG/SG(Cole,Gaff,Diggins,Hawkins) 3 SF for 1 position(AJax, Martin, Polley), 5 bigs for 2 positions C/PF (Sanogo, Whaley, Akok, Johnson, Springs). Everyone pretty much agrees that College is generally a guards game yet that is where we are the least deep. Does that make sense at all? Can't figure out why people think we are overloaded there. If not Watts, someone else.

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