Rothstein Top 25 for 2016-17

[HuskyHawk]

How is the 15-20 range massive expectations? They could certainly underperform like they have the past two years, but based on talent alone it seems like a fair projection.

I agree. Last year's team lost 4-5 games in which it was the better team. That was down to chemistry and lack of leadership in key situations. They fixed most of that by the end, but too late.

This team projects to be a better "team". The pieces fit together much better. We never played with a normal lineup last year, often running a team with no PG at all on the floor, and a forward playing out of position and trying to distribute. I think Adams is poised to be an absolutely unstoppable star. While Larrier isn't likely to be as "good" as DHam, he's more traditional as a wing. He doesn't force us to adjust to his game, as both DHam and Gibbs did last year. Purvis should have better flow not having to adjust to Gibbs. Gilbert allows us to play two scoring PGs when we want. I expect every front-court player to improve and we have some great talent coming in.

 

[lange10]

I promise Larrier will not miss a beat. I saw him at practice one day and he just might have been the best player there. The only thing is that he definitely cannot rebound as good as Hamilton so a lineup of Rique, JA, Purv, and tL at the same time might not work very well. But I fully expect Larrier to come in, play great, and possibly be our leading scorer.

Purvis was referred to as the best player in practice on a team with Shabazz, Boat and Deandre by Calhoun and a few others yet he still struggled in his first year at times. A game is a different animal than practice. I think he'll be fine but I'm tempering my expectations 'til I see what he can do on the big stage when it counts.

 

[mauconnfan]

I agree. Last year's team lost 4-5 games in which it was the better team. That was down to chemistry and lack of leadership in key situations. They fixed most of that by the end, but too late.

This team projects to be a better "team". The pieces fit together much better. We never played with a normal lineup last year, often running a team with no PG at all on the floor, and a forward playing out of position and trying to distribute. I think Adams is poised to be an absolutely unstoppable star. While Larrier isn't likely to be as "good" as DHam, he's more traditional as a wing. He doesn't force us to adjust to his game, as both DHam and Gibbs did last year. Purvis should have better flow not having to adjust to Gibbs. Gilbert allows us to play two scoring PGs when we want. I expect every front-court player to improve and we have some great talent coming in.

He isn't likley to be as good as DHam in some ways, namely rebounding and handling the ball form the wing. But taking the ball more out of his hands and putting it in Jalen's and AG's hands may be a better thing and actually should be. And another thing maybe not getting as many rebounds means he guards his guy throughout the play and doesn't allow open looks, rather than cheating to the rim sometimes to get those rebounds? Larrier has some things to prove but his game looks like it has a high ceiling and he's more athletic. We will see how it all works out but I think they will be fine.

 

[HuskyHawk]

He isn't likley to be as good as DHam in some ways, namely rebounding and handling the ball form the wing. But taking the ball more out of his hands and putting it in Jalen's and AG's hands may be a better thing and actually should be. And another thing maybe not getting as many rebounds means he guards his guy throughout the play and doesn't allow open looks, rather than cheating to the rim sometimes to get those rebounds? Larrier has some things to prove but his game looks like it has a high ceiling and he's more athletic. We will see how it all works out but I think they will be fine.

You are looking at it the same way I am. Can he do as much? Probably not. Can he do the things we actually want our wing doing? Yes, and possibly better than DHam. I'm interested to see him in action. Hell, he might even be able to make layups.

 

[UconnFanNVa]

I think this years team will be more well rounded. Part of the problem with last years team was that hamilton had to handle the ball as much as he did. Gibbs was not even close to being a pg in the mold of Boat, Shabazz or Kemba. I really think that is what hurt is the most last year. When Adams started to get a little more burn I thought we started to have much better offensive stretches but he was a freshman and when he has to sit Gibbs is back at the point with Hamilton handling the ball alot more. Getting Dham back imo would have been great mainly because we wouldnt have to use him as a forward quite as much. Teams knew it was coming and adjusted and would shut down our offense for long stretches by making us just shoot from the outside. If he got to play with more ball handling guards as a junior I think we would have seen him game look alot better and it would have worked alot better for our offense. But... he entered the draft.. Moving on.

I think once again it starts on the defensive end. I think Larrier as a fillin for Dham could actually be a significant defensive upgrade. What he brings on offense? I dont know yet. Looks athetlic and explosive, we'll have to see what he brings. The fact that he'll have Jalen, and Gilbert and Vital getting the ball to him at the right time could be great for us though. And the same goes for the whole team. I think with these guards in place we'll see more slashes and mid range shots, easy set ups for our big men. Hopefully someone picks up on dhams lobs to Amida... Gilbert is a very good defensive player too, so we'll have pressure on the ball. I can see Larrier, Purvis,Jalen and Diarra being a nightmare playing the passing lanes and we still have a great shotblocker down low.

I dont know what is going to happen but the potential is there for this group of guys. Amida and Purvis want the NBA and that starts with success at Uconn, next year is do or die for them. Larrier has to be DYING to get on the court and prove he made the right choice in going to Uconn. Jalen was warming up late last season, lets see if he keeps getting hotter. Gilbert looks super competitive, same with Vital. Enoch is going to get more burn now, lets see how hungry he is. Enoch could be huge for us this year if he can put things together. Durham if healthy could be our best incoming freshman! He has really great potential i'm hoping he surprises us all. Also if Vance can knock down the 3s as advertised along with vital and Gilbert, we may have just become and actual good 3 point shooting team which will make scoring in other ways alot more easier. I think we are loaded talent wise. There isnt anything we need that shouldnt be somewhere on our bench. I'm hoping these guys are all hungry. Great potential! now they just need to put in the work.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Expect to see Larrier at the 4, Purvis at the 3, Adams and Gilbert backcourt, often. Among the freshman forwards we might say a lot of stretch four usage.

Gilbert will not start , last year's team had no PG and it still took awhile for KO to start JA. Do you guys seriously think KO didn't realize Gibbs was out if position?
It will be JA, Rodney, Larrier,AB, and Facey ( who isn't a bad rebounder )that start out the year. Enoch is really the only other potential 5 so given the fouls bigs tend to commit he is far to valuable to play at the four except situationally. He will play minimum of 1o to 15 minutes at the 5. If we could find a capable backup 5 than Enoch at the 4 becomes a possibility.
Will there be situationally lineups,of course , but I believe the above is the most likely. By year end KO will have the most flexible team he has had.
He will work the kids in as their practice effort dictates.
Gilbert will play some point ,but I suspect Adams will still be on the court.
If he plays Gilbert and Rodney together it means either Gilbert is a protegy alla Kalid or Purvis's handle has made a quantum leap.

 

[mauconnfan]

Gilbert will not start , last year's team had no PG and it still took awhile for KO to start JA. Do you guys seriously think KO didn't realize Gibbs was out if position?
It will be JA, Rodney, Larrier,AB, and Facey ( who isn't a bad rebounder )that start out the year. Enoch is really the only other potential 5 so given the fouls bigs tend to commit he is far to valuable to play at the four except situationally. He will play minimum of 1o to 15 minutes at the 5. If we could find a capable backup 5 than Enoch at the 4 becomes a possibility.
Will there be situationally lineups,of course , but I believe the above is the most likely. By year end KO will have the most flexible team he has had.
He will work the kids in as their practice effort dictates.
Gilbert will play some point ,but I suspect Adams will still be on the court.
If he plays Gilbert and Rodney together it means either Gilbert is a protegy alla Kalid or Purvis's handle has made a quantum leap.

Just can't see many minutes in which Kelis Fisher and AB will be in the game at the same time. They may very well start together for whatever reason, it won't end that way unless a light went off in both their heads over this summer. Too many of the same weaknesses on defense and offense to have 2/5ths of your team playing meaningful minutes together.

I don't know what the answer is yet, but between Enoch, Larrier, the frosh and a potentially healthy durham there is one I'm hoping.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Just can't see many minutes in which Kelis Fisher and AB will be in the game at the same time. They may very well start together for whatever reason, it won't end that way unless a light went off in both their heads over this summer. Too many of the same weaknesses on defense and offense to have 2/5ths of your team playing meaningful minutes together.

I don't know what the answer is yet, but between Enoch, Larrier, the frosh and a potentially healthy durham there is one I'm hoping.

Larrier is lock at the 3 , that doesn't mean he will never play the 4 .
Rodney might even see minutes there if necessary
You have to have a competent backup 5 , whether you swap AB/SE
It's probably wise to think if them in tandem as your 5
From Facey's POV ,he may be a better compliment to Steve as I get his similarity to AB as a perceived weakness.
I think opposing team matchups will dictate changes as well as a kid making a Josh Boone freshman type leap.
But for practical purposes the 4 is Facey's to lose. I hope as a senior he comes through.

When you said Kelis Fisher my first thought was Kevin Freeman, if only that were true.
Maybe one of the kids can channel the original Kelis Fisher
He was a beast.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

My All Sleeper Player Team (ASPT) ...

1) Marcus Foster/Creighton (Sleeper BE POY/2nd Team AA)...
2) Omer Faruk Yurtseven AKA Y7/NC State (If Clears NCAA)...This could be a stretch but...
3) Marcus Marshall/Nevada (36 pts vs Tulsa in 2014-15)
4) Malcolm Hill/Illinois (Not even Honorable Mention All- Big Ten last year)
5) Tres Tinkle/Oregon State (Break out player nationally on a border line NIT team @ OSU in 2016-17)

6th Man: Amida Brimah/Connecticut

***Player to watch that has not been talked about much due to his injury but could be a big wildcard in college hoops next year:
Dennis Smith Jr.

What do you guys think?

Best,
BDH

 

[David 76]

I think the challenge for this team, beside chemistry, is rebounding. Probably the biggest loss with DHam going. Have to hope Facey, Diarra & Enoch can pick up some slack.
Talent wise, we said goodbye to Phil. Omar, Sam and they were replaced with much more talent. We are finally back to 2 top point guards which will be a big plus. As good as Dham is, we can make up for his points and assists. Rebounds and chemistry are what we need. And I think our chemistry might improve without a point forward that dominates our offense.

 

[80shusky]

I think Ollie should hand the keys to Adams right off the bat and let him run the offense. There seemed to be a lot of questions about who was doing what this year. Let Jalen run the team. Also, either Jalen or Alterique should be on the floor at all times. I could see Facey starting at the four though not necessarily getting starters minutes. As others have pointed out having Facey and Brimah on the floor at the same time can be limiting offensively although if Jalen can penetrate and distribute to them for easy baskets maybe they would be more productive. I would guess the starting lineup would be Jalen, Purvis, Larrier, Facey and Brimah to start the season. Diarra is supposed to have a relentless motor and KO rewards effort so if he kills it in practice I could see him getting a lot of minutes at the four and possibly eventually cracking the starting lineup. I think like others have stated rebounding is likely to be our weak spot. If Diarra can rebound with effort at the four, or Durham (assuming he is healthy) perhaps that can be less of a problem. I would hope we see Enoch get some good run and hopefully develop into a solid post player to spell Brimah. Throw in Vance shooting threes and contributing some with his size and Vital being initially a bench two guard who can shoot and handle and I think we have a good team. I'd love to see us pick up a solid rebounder at the 4 along the way if we can but I'm not sure at this point what is still out there. I think given the players we have coming in Ollie will have a more diverse combination of players to mix and match with. I wouldn't get too caught up in who plays the 4 and 5 spots. We should be able to rotate players in and out of those spots with Brimah, Facey, Diarra, Durham, Vance (even though he seems more like a wing despite being 6-8) and Enoch. I really like that we have a young bench with a lot of talent and potential.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I think the rankings of 17-20 are about right. Some improvement is expected from key players, some new players will have to make an impact, and Hamilton will be missed.