Pretty clear to me it will be Adams, Purvis, Larrier, Facey, and Brimah. Not sure what the lineup will look like come March but I think that will be the one to start the season.
I tend to agree with you. I'm not too concerned with who starts, but I am very interested with who's on the floor during winning time.
I think we're going to see a lot of dual point guard sets with Adams and Gilbert on the floor at the same time. That will mean a lot of 3 guard sets with Purvis playing next to them.
It does seem like one of our deepest teams we've had in a long time, but a lot of that depth is very inexperienced. So far the freshmen haven't looked too lost out there, but wait till they play a legitimate threat that has just as much size and athleticism as they do.
Just about every year I think that most of the scholarship players are ready to play at this level, seeing them go up against these division 2 teams and some of the mid-majors. But once they start playing against competition that's closer to their level, most of the young players tend to struggle.
One thing about this team, although it doesn't have a lot of beef, it has to be one of the longest teams UConn has ever had. And we've had some pretty long teams. How many college teams have you seen that have three combo-forwards that are 6-8, 6-8 and 6-11? Add that to true 4s and 5s that go 6-8, 6-10, 6-11 and 7-0?
So with all that height, I didn't think they rebounded very well against Southern Connecticut. One thing I think they're going to have to work on very hard is being physical and the paint and crashing the boards. That was the one part of their game that I thought needed a lot of work.
For a team that has so many new pieces, I thought they ran some of their half-court sets quickly, getting to their spots when they we're supposed to. In the past, early on, I see their half-court sets executed mechanically, where they're not hitting their spots on the floor at the right moment to free up good shooting opportunities. In other words, not getting to the spot to set the screen at the right time or the right spot to receive the ball at the right time. It's just a small sample, but I was pleasantly surprised so far.
They got into transition a lot more in the second half compared to the first half and the first game. They finished well in transition, which is something they've struggled over the past couple years. It definitely helps when you have a guy Like Larry who not only can run the floor but can handle the ball in transition and in the half court. He's one heck of a player, a lot better that I thought he was. I think we're going to see some monster games from him throughout the season.
We're likely going to see some WTF losses early on, but as the young players mature and they mature as a team, this team is going to be really good.