Rothstein on Campus Today

[tzznandrew]

Boy what a bust Terry Larrier was... Sheeeeeeeeeeeeesh.. My expectations were through the roof when he came over from VCU, good grief....

Well, the ACL tear year one, and then the recovery from the ACL usually takes another year. Never really saw Larrier, in his defense.

 

[goskis2018]

Wasn't that a projected top 20 lineup? Regardless, this time of year is chock full of team success predictions that never panned out. Usually from players that changed their poor shooting over the summer by taking 1000 shots a day under the guidance of Ray Allen. Makes me smile.

Top 20 of what? That was my senior year at UConn, we went into games hoping we would at least stay competitive in games as opposed to getting run out of the gym time and time again. Antoine Anderson and big Dave would be walk ons for this roster, maybe

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

When we signed Big Dave we were all like “finally someone who won’t get pushed around by Cincy big men!” Yep wrooooong

 

[bigknight3]

Didn't Tulane or some team like that do this a number of years ago?

Kentucky...

 

[jibsey]

Top 20 of what? That was my senior year at UConn, we went into games hoping we would at least stay competitive in games as opposed to getting run out of the gym time and time again. Antoine Anderson and big Dave would be walk ons for this roster, maybe

2016-2017 Larrier was on that team. We were preseason 18 in some rankings. 2017-18 not so much. We had what was supposed to be talented players, only problem was it didn’t turn out that way.

 

[HooperScooper]

We are gonna struggle shooting the rock next season. But our rebounding is going to be insane. We are going to get a lot of second and third chances which will make up for the shooting woes a bit. We will run into issues when we face teams that can keep us off the glass.

Let's just hope they convert more of those 2nd and 3rd chances than they did in the Maryland game. That first half was one of the strangest halves of basketball I can remember. Outrebounded Maryland by a ton but couldn't put the ball in the ocean.

 

[Dove]

The recipe for success starts with Akok.

 

[UCSouth]

The recipe for success starts with Akok.

I thought Andre was the answer?

 

[Dove]

I thought Andre was the answer?

That has not changed.

 

[ToolzieFan]

I thought Andre was the answer?

This isn’t actually specifically towards you, just a general thought about the whole idea of which players will take a step forward or be our most important player. Depending on who you ask, the key to the season could be:
-Akok returning fully healthy and shooting consistently.
-Andre Jackson developing a scoring mentality and improving his outside shot.
-Jalen Gaffney playing assertively and consistently performing the way he has in his best games.
-Jordan Hawkins emerging as a starter, and perhaps the go-to scorer we seemingly lack.
-Tyrese Martin shooting as well as he early in the year for an entire season, or at least converting at the rim more often.
-Isaiah Whaley becoming a dependable enough shooter to play the 4 alongside Sanogo more often.

The probability of all of those things happening is fairly close to zero. And while some of those things are more likely than others, I think there is a very good chance one or more of them comes to fruition. If so, then we should achieve what I consider our median expected outcome: a tournament team who is not on the bubble and spends much of the year in the bottom half of the top-25 or at least receiving a fair amount of votes.

 

[husky429]

This isn’t actually specifically towards you, just a general thought about the whole idea of which players will take a step forward or be our most important player. Depending on who you ask, the key to the season could be:
-Akok returning fully healthy and shooting consistently.
-Andre Jackson developing a scoring mentality and improving his outside shot.
-Jalen Gaffney playing assertively and consistently performing the way he has in his best games.
-Jordan Hawkins emerging as a starter, and perhaps the go-to scorer we seemingly lack.
-Tyrese Martin shooting as well as he early in the year for an entire season, or at least converting at the rim more often.
-Isaiah Whaley becoming a dependable enough shooter to play the 4 alongside Sanogo more often.

The probability of all of those things happening is fairly close to zero. And while some of those things are more likely than others, I think there is a very good chance one or more of them comes to fruition. If so, then we should achieve what I consider our median expected outcome: a tournament team who is not on the bubble and spends much of the year in the bottom half of the top-25 or at least receiving a fair amount of votes.

If 50% of those things happen we're a top 10 team IMO

 

[tzznandrew]

2016-2017 Larrier was on that team. We were preseason 18 in some rankings. 2017-18 not so much. We had what was supposed to be talented players, only problem was it didn’t turn out that way.

2016-17 dealt with season ending injuries to Larrier and Gilbert almost immediately. Larrier played 4 games, Gilbert 3.

Still, even with them, they started the year losing to Wagner and Northeastern.

 

[Dean Wormer]

The recipe for success starts with Akok.

I thought Andre was the answer?

Gaffney is my pick as the breakout player this year. I was very impressed by his will to win that last game as he kept driving to the hole, drawing fouls, trying to make things happen and just fighting to the end. If his jumper comes around, he’ll be the biggest surprise on the team. I think a lot of people are underestimating Gaff.

 

[Umami Zen]

This isn’t actually specifically towards you, just a general thought about the whole idea of which players will take a step forward or be our most important player. Depending on who you ask, the key to the season could be:
-Akok returning fully healthy and shooting consistently.
-Andre Jackson developing a scoring mentality and improving his outside shot.
-Jalen Gaffney playing assertively and consistently performing the way he has in his best games.
-Jordan Hawkins emerging as a starter, and perhaps the go-to scorer we seemingly lack.
-Tyrese Martin shooting as well as he early in the year for an entire season, or at least converting at the rim more often.
-Isaiah Whaley becoming a dependable enough shooter to play the 4 alongside Sanogo more often.

The probability of all of those things happening is fairly close to zero. And while some of those things are more likely than others, I think there is a very good chance one or more of them comes to fruition. If so, then we should achieve what I consider our median expected outcome: a tournament team who is not on the bubble and spends much of the year in the bottom half of the top-25 or at least receiving a fair amount of votes.

Tyler Phommachanh did not come back to be a non-impact player.. Think he'll surprise you

 

[donyell34]

Not underestimating Gaff justed waiting for improvements with results which has happened. That Maryland game has got to do wonders for him. Pulling hard for his success.

 

[UofCT]

Well, the ACL tear year one, and then the recovery from the ACL usually takes another year. Never really saw Larrier, in his defense.

The best part about Larrier was the boneyards reaction to him declaring for the draft

 

[ToolzieFan]

Tyler Phommachanh did not come back to be a non-impact player.. Think he'll surprise you

I wasn’t trying to slight Polley at all. I expect him to be a solid contributor. I didn’t list him because I think we have a better idea of what we are going from him than Akok or Jackson or Hawkins.

 

[BuffaloHusky]

To a degree almost any lineup we throw out there will be formidable on defense but I'm worried about closing lineups in those low-scoring games. A couple of the bigs as well as Martin and Jackson are going to have to show they can consistently hit free throws in a tight game or we will have another Creighton or two that we will be lamenting when NCAA seeding is announced.

 

[Kenny11]

Boy what a bust Terry Larrier was... Sheeeeeeeeeeeeesh.. My expectations were through the roof when he came over from VCU, good grief....

He had less feel for the game than any “talented” player we have had.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Would love to chime in on Akok vs Whaley…

The numbers may not support Akok being a better shooter than Whaley but he has way more confidence in shooting it from distance. Akok has a reputation for shooting while that is something Whaley is improving on. To me, that makes Akok a better shooter even if the numbers don’t support it.

EDIT: I just looked it up and Akok made 12 3s his freshman year in just half a season compared to Whaley’s 8 in a full season.

Whaley is a better overall defender without a doubt. What he does on ball, hedging wise, and on the block might be the best we’ve seen overall at his position. Think Akok has a chance to be a better rim protector because of his length and timing though. I’m happy to be able to rotate them both in the game to go along with one of the best low post scorers in the conference. Then we have the super talented freshman behind them learning and competing. So much to like about this squad

Teams win not individual players
Finding the right combinations to maximize the talent is the key to success. Players who you might not think are as good individually can make the players around them better
making overall success more likely.
Any coach can put the five best players on the floor together the great ones understand the five that make up the best team. Jim Calhoun was questioned about the famous team that eventually lost to George Mason
having 5 of the best players in the country .
His response was 3 of them essential play the same position.

 

[Chin Diesel]

The recipe for success starts with Akok.

The cook that stirs the pot.

 

[EBonz30]

Unless Akok is looking really good on both ends of the floor, I can't see him starting over Whaley right away. When was the last time a starter won DPOY and then was coming off the bench the next year? Probably never

We will see, Akok looks like he has NBA talent- hard to keep a guy with his type of ability on the bench- with that said I love Whaley- I think when we look back on the Hurley era Whaley will be foundational player who helped change the culture into a winning culture.

 

[goskis2018]

2016-2017 Larrier was on that team. We were preseason 18 in some rankings. 2017-18 not so much. We had what was supposed to be talented players, only problem was it didn’t turn out that way.

The post you originally quoted was talking about the Antoine Anderson and David Onourah team, which is the 2017-18 team that got slaughtered every other game. That's why I was surprised about you calling them a top 20 team, top 20 in the Northeast would have been generous for that squad.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Teams win not individual players
Finding the right combinations to maximize the talent is the key to success. Players who you might not think are as good individually can make the players around them better
making overall success more likely.
Any coach can put the five best players on the floor together the great ones understand the five that make up the best team. Jim Calhoun was questioned about the famous team that eventually lost to George Mason
having 5 of the best players in the country .
His response was 3 of them essential play the same position.

I definitely agree. Taking lessons from that run which is why I personally wouldn’t start Tyrese… need that 2nd ball handler. Whether it’s Gaffney or Hawkins. By seasons end I think our rotation ends up being this.

Cole
Hawkins
Andre
Akok
Sanogo

Diggins
Gaffney
Martin
Whaley

With plenty of depth for if we get in serious foul trouble to use.