Rothstein on UConn

[superjohn]

I think its asinine the hate syd gets here, he was a freshman, and hes incredibly athletic, no one has even given the kid time to channel that athleticism and quite frankly none of you are that great of scouts, yes he needs a shot but it can develop, yes he looked lost at points but again, first time playing with his coach and he was a freshman. You all act like hes some hooligan we have on our team that cant possibly serve a purpose down the road. Personally i'm most excited to see him develop.

I think that's more about whispers of him not being the hardest worker and Hurley being mum on him all offseason.

 

[superjohn]

Wait a sec...thought he was 96 lbs soaking wet and had trouble benching 20 lbs?

He is that but he's also one of the beat shotblockers coming into college and he works his butt off.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I don’t see 6’9” Polley starting at 3 in Hurley’s system. He likes to play 3 guards. I think the starting 5 is Gilbert, Vital, Bouk, Akok, and Carlton. Main guys off the bench will be Gaffney, Polley, and Whaley.

He doesn't "like" to start 3 guards. He had to at other places because he couldn't recruit the players he needs. Nobody wants to play 3 guards if they can instead put a Rip Hamilton at the 3. He commented mid season last year that he realized he cannot put out a URI sized team in our league. He has to add size and length. If Polley can dribble, I think he'd love a 6'9" guy at the 3.

I expect our 3 position to be split among Sid, Bouk, Polley and Adams. All guys 6'5 or more.

I'm not sure who starts. Bouk may not at first, and when he does it could be at the 2 or 3, depending on who is playing well among CV, Polley and Sid.

 

[bendm]

i think polley being able to play the 3 is the best news out of all that. still think he'll play most of his minutes at the 4 this year but that versatility will be huge next season, especially if we can't sign a quality wing, in which case polley would prob have to start at the 3.... so fingers crossed for at least one of jackson, lane, thomas, or richardson

2019:
gilbert-gaffney
vital---adams
bouk--wilson
akok---polley
carlton-springs

2020:
cole---gaffney
bouk--adams
polley-wilson
akok--springs
carlton-cardwell?

 

[intlzncster]

arguably the worst pound for pound rebounder on the planet.

Him being able to play the 3 would help us on the boards.

These two things do not compute Q.

 

[goskis2018]

He is that but he's also one of the beat shotblockers coming into college and he works his butt off.

Wasn't he the best shotblocker in his class? I remember seeing some crazy statistics making the rounds on the 'yard last summer.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Vital isn’t not starting

 

[intlzncster]

arguably the worst pound for pound rebounder on the planet.

Him being able to play the 3 would help us on the boards.

These two things do not compute Q.

 

[the Q]

These two things do not compute Q.

If akok is on the floor as the 4 it does.

But I’m still team vital anyway.

 

[bazz&boujee]

the overly positive walking hype machine that rothstein is overtly saying we won’t make tournament has me very concerned

 

[CL82]

Wait a sec...thought he was 96 lbs soaking wet and had trouble benching 20 lbs?

Well yeah, but a physically imposing 96 pounds.

 

[intlzncster]

Just some quick thoughts on this.. CV will start over bouknight in the beginning, but by the new year I wouldn't be surprised to see Bouk as a starter. The comparison to Lamb is exactly what I see in Bouk.. obviously high praise, but from a game standpoint it fits perfectly. I've always liked Tyler Phommachanh, just thought he needed to get stronger (which it seems he has). From what i've heard and seen AKOK is a monster around the rim. Can the season start already?

If anything, he'd take out Polley. I get that Vital is best suited to 6th man on a good team, but chemistry issues alone dictate that he'll probably start. Even if Bouk gets more minutes.

• Vital's our most passionate player, on a team of guys not known for their motors. He'll set the tone.
• He's an emotional dude. Being demoted from starting as a senior would have a negative impact imo. He'd take it poorly; that's just who he is. And it would filter down through the team.

I'm not sure you could replace Vital's defensive intensity with Bouk/Polley combo either.

 

[2north]

CV will start over bouknight in the beginning, but by the new year I wouldn't be surprised to see Bouk as a starter.

I agree with this assessment however would be worried about what that means for the state of the team at that point - does it mean Bouknight is showing he’s NEXT (and not in Boneyard terms) and/or Vital is in the doghouse? Unfortunately regardless of what others do, we need Vital to be very good and engaged.

 

[intlzncster]

If akok is on the floor as the 4 it does.

But I’m still team vital anyway.

I just assume Akok is at the 4 no matter where everyone else plays. So it's Polley at the three or on the bench.

I just think Polley is a rebounding black hole no matter where he plays. You don't go from one of the worst rebounding kids in America to helping the team in that area. Maybe he'll prove adequate by the time he graduates.

 

[superjohn]

Wasn't he the best shotblocker in his class? I remember seeing some crazy statistics making the rounds on the 'yard last summer.

I think so, he had circuit games with double digit blocks.

 

[2north]

If anything, he'd take out Polley. I get that Vital is best suited to 6th man on a good team, but chemistry issues alone dictate that he'll start. Even if Bouk gets more minutes.

• Vital's our most passionate player, on a team not known for their motors. He'll set the tone.
• He's an emotional dude. Being demoted from starting as a senior would have a negative impact imo. He'd take it poorly; that's just who he is. And it would filter down through the team.

I'm not sure you could replace Vital's defensive intensity with Bouk/Polley combo either.

Beat me to it...

 

[husky429]

These two things do not compute Q.

It means we can have a better rebounder on the floor with him. And still take advantage of his shooting from the 3 spot. The risk of course would be ballhandling then

 

[husky429]

CV starts. Can't teach his competitiveness.

I bet by January Bouk and him are at 25 mins a piece

 

[CL82]

CV starts. Can't teach his competitiveness.

I bet by January Bouk and him are at 25 mins a piece

I wouldn't mind this because it means others are stepping up.

 

[intlzncster]

It means we can have a better rebounder on the floor with him. And still take advantage of his shooting from the 3 spot. The risk of course would be ballhandling then

I'm operating on the assumption that there was never a debate on Polley over Akok. And no matter who you put in at the three, we become a worse rebounding team when Polley is on the court.

I just don't see Polley playing much 4 at all this year. Except in the most extreme cases. So it's either the 3 or the bench.

We've got enough scorers at other positions, that losing his 3pt shooting for a bit (by not putting him at the 4) wouldn't be huge detriment in those situations where Akok's on the bench. I'd rather stick a Whaley (gulp) in as a backup 4 for rebounding and some D.

 

[husky429]

I'm operating on the assumption that there was never a debate on Polley over Akok. And no matter who you put in at the three, we become a worse rebounding team when Polley is on the court.

I just don't see Polley playing much 4 at all this year. Except in the most extreme cases. So it's either the 3 or the bench.

We've got enough scorers at other positions, that losing his 3pt shooting for a bit (by not putting him at the 4) wouldn't be huge detriment in those situations where Akok's on the bench. I'd rather stick a Whaley (gulp) in as a backup 4 for rebounding and some D.

Spacing is so vital though. Whaley at then4 makes us an exclusively shooting team.

Will be interesting to see what lineups hurley experiments with early. I imagine hell try all these out to see what's effective

 

[Rocktheworld]

Rothstein makes you feel like you're going to win the championship every preseason but this is the lineup I'm hoping for.

Now wait until Rothstein starts dropping knowledge on the beat red sauce joints and where to get your linguine with clams.

I mean who has bad news or who makes negative predictions this time of year?

It’s more annoying with rothstein because it’s the same empty crap every year, I get that

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Watching mixtapes of Bouknight remind me of Jeremy Lamb and great to see a pro like Rothstein validate those comparisons.

 

[GoDAWGS]

Testy, eh? There's not any judgment in the post you quoted. That seems to pretty logical. Sid's role was as a 3. We needed that desperately. Polley was a better player than Sid at everything but 3-man skills, basically. Not rebounding, to be fair.

And even if Polley sticks as a 4.. hurley seems to like guards.. bouk isba pretty talented sf too. Seems like adams and Sid might be competing for mop up SF minutes

A 6'6 180lb kid needs to be able to shoot and dribble the ball more than 2 times. He has the chance to learn those things, for sure.

Sid has had a pretty traumatic life. He has a lot against him. No decent fan WANTS him to fail. It's just been apparent other guys have developed new skills and Sid hasn't

Apologize if i came off argumentative or testy. I was just pointing out I dont think syd gets fair takes on the BY my impression is that allot of people think he doesn't work hard and he messes up allot. Agree he definitely needs a shot, and he definately needs refinement in certain skills, he also absolutely looked lost last year at certain moments, theres allot of places to improve. Polley is a better player than syd i agree, I just do think syd adds more value to the huskies than he takes away and I would really like to see him play, I think hes a phenomenal athlete with the potential to become an incredible slasher, I also think he has the ability to become an amazing defender, some of the blocks he had last year were absolutely incredible. I see him as a kerwin roach type playe.

 

[gtcam]

Unless CV is injured, kidnapped, ruled ineligible or quits the team he is starting and will do so until he completely craps out.
He is the heart and soul of the returning team and that is so vital (no pun intended) to this still young team.