Since it appears to be an unknown with this team, who would you say is the leader? | The Boneyard

Since it appears to be an unknown with this team, who would you say is the leader?

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I don't see one. There have been threads about playing through opponent's comebacks and runs but having a floor leader to settle the team, redirect and maintain the game plan is essential. Typically its a senior or point guard or perhaps your best player demanding 'perfection' of his teammates. Hell I don't even know who the captains are (and its almost March).

Its obvious with so many new pieces its important to have that player(s) who can huddle them up and offer encouragement and some direction/correction/adjustments. Sure we have some 'lead by example' types like Bouknight, and the usual cheerleading support, but last night when Georgetown launched its comeback the leadership was void, seemingly relying on the Coach and staff. Sad not to have that 'floor coach', and I hope I'm wrong or just blind to it.

With that said, I am perplexed as to who, or even if we have that leader. As good as we may be, without a definitive leader we may not have great success come post season, where having a strong leader is essential.

If I would guess it would be Bouknight, but I don't see it.
 
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Nobody else seems to see it so there's a 99% chance I'm imagining it, but it's always seemed to be Cole to me. He always seems to be leading the huddles on the court, first one over talking to Jackson/Sanogo after they make a freshman mistake
 
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Cole.

Always on the floor for loose balls, putting his body on the line for anything. Taking the ball to the rack despite his size, coming up with big buckets when we need him to. I have no doubt Cole is the leader with all the hustle he puts in and his willingness to take charge of the team when required

And I do recall posters on here saying he is only at UConn because he played for Hurley's dad at St. Anthonys. Ridiculous. He has proven that he can play at UConn and represent us immensely. So happy to have him here
 

HuskyHawk

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As I said in the time out thread, it isn't obvious. A real leader has to command the respect of the whole team. When he says, do this, not that, they listen. I don't see anybody doing that for this team. Martin stands out to me as the guy who could be that guy. But as a transfer, he may not be able to command that respect. Our seniors aren't good enough to be that guy. Bouk doesn't seem to want to be. Cole could perhaps, but I haven't seen him talking to his teammates, being demonstrative.
 

ClifSpliffy

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mebbe some here missed it, but when rj backed down that even tinier gtown guard for a paint bucket, and then he openly, notoriously, and loudly barked in his face, a warm and fuzzy feeling came over me. i think mr cole grows more comfortable in his role here as his experience lengthens in time. what's he up to, 17 games now?
also noteworthy is that both coach and mr martin have brought some of that Rhode Island toughness and grit to the table. sweeeeeeet.
 
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Our seniors/BA don't seem to be comfortable with that role.Our underclassmen and Martin seem to defer to Bouk because of his scoring proficiency.

Cole seems to be "winning" his teammates over with his hustle and passion.

IMO..JB/TM/RJ lead on any particular night through their actions but not their words .They're all quiet guys. Bouk is the closest player we have to an alpha but he needs to play well to show his confidence and leadership.
 
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I would have said for sure that coming into the season this is Bouknights team, and I still feel that way, but since the injury he hasn’t been the same. I noticed last night, especially in the 2nd half that he would literally run away from the ball and hide in the corner when the shot clock would run down. There was also a situation on an inbounds play with 4 seconds on the shot clock where he ran to the corner with no intention of getting the ball.
Maybe Hurley is trying to use him as a decoy in these situations, which does make sense, but I would be very concerned if he was running and hiding from big moments. I would have never ever thought that about him previously, but it’s just something I noticed since he has come back from the injury.

I will also add that Hurley mentioned after the nova game that he needs to conserve his energy more, so it’s quite possible that the things I mentioned above are by design. I just know from watching the Uconn greats since the early 90s that you knew guys like Kemba, Ray, Rip, etc would make damn sure they had the ball in their hands when we needed a bucket. I don’t want to overreact here, just an observation and I hope I’m wrong and that it’s by design.
 

ClifSpliffy

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I would have said for sure that coming into the season this is Bouknights team, and I still feel that way, but since the injury he hasn’t been the same. I noticed last night, especially in the 2nd half that he would literally run away from the ball and hide in the corner when the shot clock would run down. There was also a situation on an inbounds play with 4 seconds on the shot clock where he ran to the corner with no intention of getting the ball.
Maybe Hurley is trying to use him as a decoy in these situations, which does make sense, but I would be very concerned if he was running and hiding from big moments. I would have never ever thought that about him previously, but it’s just something I noticed since he has come back from the injury.

I will also add that Hurley mentioned after the nova game that he needs to conserve his energy more, so it’s quite possible that the things I mentioned above are by design. I just know from watching the Uconn greats since the early 90s that you knew guys like Kemba, Ray, Rip, etc would make damn sure they had the ball in their hands when we needed a bucket. I don’t want to overreact here, just an observation and I hope I’m wrong and that it’s by design.
ur wrong, and here's why- james is currently in school learning the difference between doing too much, too little, and time left in the game. clearly, he is getting closer to aceing that class, too.
2nd Half James! has a nice ring to it, no?
 
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ur wrong, and here's why- james is currently in school learning the difference between doing too much, too little, and time left in the game. clearly, he is getting closer to aceing that class, too.
2nd Half James! has a nice ring to it, no?
I'm definitely on your side with this, and do believe you are correct. Like I said above, I am hoping that I am wrong and him deferring was not the case.
 
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After the Providence loss I had read that there was a players only meeting called by RJ. Roles were discussed as well as not waiting for Bouk. RJ is the leader, he is alot better and more important than the people on the boneyard understand.
 

SubbaBub

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Bouk, Whaley and Martin are the leaders of this team. They are the only three guys you are happy to see on the floor or with the ball nearly 100% of the time. Can't say that for anyone else. The rest have had their moments but also come up short too often.

The season will be decided on whether or not we avoid stretches like last night against teams that will use it to put the game out of reach. Gtown isn't good, lucky for us.
 
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We don't really have one that stands out. Bouk is by default based on talent alone when he's on the court, but he goes passive sometimes and missed the time w/ the injury. Cole is probably closest but isn't quite there yet. It's an interesting team - a blend of youth and a few holdovers from a previous coach, the star missed time, Covid, our pg is a transfer, etc. I think we're lucky in the sense that Hurley seems to be enough of a player's coach that he can do his best to guide until someone steps up this year/next.
 
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It's interesting to see how everyone has a slightly different definition of "leader." I tend to view it like @ucp990411: a leader will take it upon himself to do non-playing related things, both on and off the court, like calling team meetings, or gathering the players on the floor and dropping wisdom. I've seen Martin do the latter a few times.
 
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Though I believe Bouk is the unquestioned leader of this team, I understand the posters here who’ve noticed Bouk not always having good body language in the three games since he came back.

I want to remind people that before he got injured Bouk didn’t show those type of moments. I see him being a little frustrated with his body at times, not allowing him to play to his fullest ability. That leads to the “bad body language”.

That’ll take care of itself over these next two weeks as he plays himself back into shape. I expect to see less and less of that body language, and more and more of him taking on the leadership mantle as he regains full confidence with what he knows he can do.
 
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Some leaders are vocal - El -and some lead by example - Bouk. I think the entire team becomes more confident when Bouk is on the floor. Cole runs the show but Bouknight is this team's Jeter. ?
 
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the announcers discussed this during the xavier game i believe. they said with bouk out AJ has stepped up as the vocal presence in practice....i was not expecting to hear that and it reflects really poorly on our upperclassmen if true
 
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Cole.

Always on the floor for loose balls, putting his body on the line for anything. Taking the ball to the rack despite his size, coming up with big buckets when we need him to. I have no doubt Cole is the leader with all the hustle he puts in and his willingness to take charge of the team when required

And I do recall posters on here saying he is only at UConn because he played for Hurley's dad at St. Anthonys. Ridiculous. He has proven that he can play at UConn and represent us immensely. So happy to have him here
But wait people on this website told me Cole wasn’t any good a few weeks ago and his minutes should go to Gaff. Are you telling me a guy that didn’t play last year and jumped up in level of competition and had no off-season needed some time to get up to speed?
 
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I’ll go with Martin. Kid plays hard, always has the game face (you’ll catch him smile off to the side), then right back to serious. He is quiet though. As far as the strength comment, Sanogo is a big strong kid, Martin is a man.
 

ctchamps

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ur wrong, and here's why- james is currently in school learning the difference between doing too much, too little, and time left in the game. clearly, he is getting closer to aceing that class, too.
2nd Half James! has a nice ring to it, no?
I agree. He’s trying to learn how to pace himself.

Not easy for a kid who wants to go 110% every play. He and Josh should do a blood exchange. Would even things out.
 
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Cole is the vocal leader, the General. Bouknight is the alpha, the Champion. Whaley is the emotional leader, the Staff Sergeant.

Right now Achilles (Bouknight) is a little mad at the Gods and Agamemnon. He's not giving off the best leadership vibes, but he's still doing his job better than anyone else could. Odysseus (Cole) is trying to keep him focused on the goal at hand, and keeping everyone working towards the same goal (Conquering Troy/the NCAA tournament). Odysseus is a good fighter and general, but not the best by far. But he's good with people. Whaley is Ajax. A strong, tough warrior who just wants to fight and scream and win glory. The other warriors respect him for his courage, but he's not a tactical leader.
 
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