Solo Ball practice highlights

[REB1094]

I have a feeling they will be running a lot of the Hawkins playbook for Solo versus the Cam package. Solo right now is likely not as dynamic as either but hopefully his athleticism will even out the lack of an ultra-elite stroke.

Analytically it’s not the best shot but I feel like Solo’s little midrange jumper curling off a screen could be deadly. Even last season he showed flashes of being really good at that

 

[RuffRuff]

Analytically it’s not the best shot but I feel like Solo’s little midrange jumper curling off a screen could be deadly. Even last season he showed flashes of being really good at that

Thing I see with Solo is that he kind of telegraphs his moves. Doesn’t read the situation as much as he makes a decision in advance and just goes with it. I think he’s the best athlete on the team, and has a great looking stroke, but can he play hoops in an organized and instinctive way? TBD.

 

[CL82]

I bet that when they are all done with these hype videos, if you dial the player jersey numbers in the order that they are released, you'll reach a recording of Coach Hurley's epic "Ran Everywhere!" rant.

"ISAIAH WHALEY... THE WRENCH!!!" may be my favorite coaching psych up line of all time. It's not even consistent with the comparisons that came before it with him saying that Whaley ran everywhere. Instead, Hurley just says his name and his nickname with such passion in as if it should be self-evident what that means.

I really need to make that my wake up alarm tone.

 

[CL82]

Solo's development and future is pretty simple to me: If he can pass and handle the ball, he will play

If you look at the early part of the season, he seemed to have a more complete and more balanced game. he definitely seemed like much more of a distributor, playmaker. Once Castle came back in his minutes went down, it seemed like he was looking to score more.

He's a talented athletic kid. Hurley just needs to get him to understand what his role is within the teams schemes and he'll be fine.

 

[Husky68]

Thing I see with Solo is that he kind of telegraphs his moves. Doesn’t read the situation as much as he makes a decision in advance and just goes with it. I think he’s the best athlete on the team, and has a great looking stroke, but can he play hoops in an organized and instinctive way? TBD.

That's kind of what I saw last year but didn't know how to describe. Few years ago I could tell if Tyrese Martin was going to attack the basket as soon as he touched the ball. Thought Solo was uncomfortable deciding when "not" to attack and would make up his mind early and then go for it whether had nice advantage or not. Then at rim tried to use athleticism against bigger guys and often came up short. The offensive set never quite looked smooth with Solo in, Stewart was same/worse early on but by end of season was much, much better which bodes well for this year for Stewart.

One of things would expect to be hard (think Castle had this) is when you were the guy in high school every time you got the ball it was attack mode, Solo needs to be comfortable during an offensive possession as to when to just be a cog (Karaban did it a lot and needs to be more aggressive to show more; Cam was very good at it) as the play unfolds and when to go for it. When that clicks look out.

Crazy but looked at 2024 team and thought "could these guys be better than 2023", get same feeling for 2025. UConn could be 1st team to get to final NCAA tournament game since Kobe's Bearcats with a chance for a 3 peat.

 

[ctbro1999]

This fell off the first page! I'm collecting Solo Ball cards for cheap because after his breakout they won't be cheap for long! Working on a rainbow set for his Bowman Best cards.