Solo Ball the one-man escape hatch

[aburks41]

Is anyone besides Hass really defending? We're awesome at shotblocking but I don't really see Solo, AK, Ross, Jaylin, Mahaney staying with anyone.

Stewart nearly shut down Dixon for as long as he could. He was incredible last night on defense.

Solo's offense is as good as his defense is bad. He is one of the most dangerous players in the country on offense and also one of the worst defensive players in the country.

Per EvanMiya, Solo is the 3rd worst defender among ALL POWER CONFERENCE players with a minimum of 500 possessions (starters). The only players who rate worse than him are Jalen Blackmon (Miami) and Dion Brown (Boston College). I never thought I'd see that for a Dan Hurley coached player

 

[superjohn]

Stewart nearly shut down Dixon for as long as he could. He was incredible last night on defense.

Solo's offense is as good as his defense is bad. He is one of the most dangerous players in the country on offense and also one of the worst defensive players in the country.

Per EvanMiya, Solo is the 3rd worst defender among ALL POWER CONFERENCE players with a minimum of 500 possessions (starters). The only players who rate worse than him are Jalen Blackmon (Miami) and Dion Brown (Boston College). I never thought I'd see that for a Dan Hurley coached player

From what I'm seeing on the EvanMiya site Jaylin and Jayden are horrible too. Mahaney really bad, Karaban bad. McNeeley the best on the team, Reed next best.

 

[August_West]

He was really fantastic the 2nd half, but he had an absolutely abysmal first half, and his lack of scoring in that half is last on the list on why Im saying that. And defense isnt even the main reason either.

 

[August_West]

100% just like hawk I'd like him to work on his midrange more, but that can wait till the pros if he can keep hitting 3s at this rate. Hass and Liam get to the rack nicely.

He is actually signifcantly outshooting Hawkins thus far.

 

[DogMania]

He had a drive through traffic in the 2nd half that was the best take I’ve seen from him all year.

Would love for him to keep developing that, along with his find to Stewart, and the pull up mid range to really get his overall game going.

He has the tools to be the best guard in the country if he can do all of that consistently.

Solo showed an improved all around game. He drove the paint and converted some shots at the rim and one or two midrange shots. Also had multiple assist 4, and 2 last game, where he's been getting 0 to 1 over the prior 7 games. We know he can fill it up from deep, but adding the ability to create his own shot makes the offense more dangerous. I hope he continues to develop and advances his game.

 

[RuffRuff]

Stewart nearly shut down Dixon for as long as he could. He was incredible last night on defense.

Solo's offense is as good as his defense is bad. He is one of the most dangerous players in the country on offense and also one of the worst defensive players in the country.

Per EvanMiya, Solo is the 3rd worst defender among ALL POWER CONFERENCE players with a minimum of 500 possessions (starters). The only players who rate worse than him are Jalen Blackmon (Miami) and Dion Brown (Boston College). I never thought I'd see that for a Dan Hurley coached player

Let’s hope Hurley is flashing these stats so that these guys can’t go incubate on defensive foot speed drills ala Flashdance.

 

[aburks41]

From what I'm seeing on the EvanMiya site Jaylin and Jayden are horrible too. Mahaney really bad, Karaban bad. McNeeley the best on the team, Reed next best.

Mahaney is rated as the 37th best overall player in the Big East which, considering there are 55 starters, is pretty good. He's been better defensively the last couple of games. That bar is pretty low though. But he definitely has shown improvement.

Karaban and Hass's defense is rating out worse than last year. Probably because they don't have Clingan behind them.

 

[Inyatkin]

Karaban and Hass's defense is rating out worse than last year. Probably because they don't have Clingan behind them.

It's enough to make you wonder how much you can take from these stats. Were they better defensively last year? Maybe, or maybe they relied an all-world defensive center behind them.

That doesn't make defensive stats worthless but you can easily take them too far.

 

[RuffRuff]

The good news is offense sells!! 2026 5 star class jump aboard.

 

[aburks41]

It's enough to make you wonder how much you can take from these stats. Were they better defensively last year? Maybe, or maybe they relied an all-world defensive center behind them.

That doesn't make defensive stats worthless but you can easily take them too far.

My eye test tells me that Karaban is about the same, but Hass seems a bit worse on the defensive end. Granted, I think the main reason for that is just a change in minutes. When you're playing 15-18 minutes a game you can go all out of defense. When you're playing 35+ minutes a game and facilitating the entire offense, you can't play with the same intensity every possession on defense

 

[husky429]

I am honestly surprised Hurley recruited a player with his lack of effort on the defensive end. It is extremely hard to watch him defend with his hands at his ankles every single game. I am not even sure his offensive explosiveness (which is really really good) makes up for being a complete liability on the defensive end

Many/most of our high school recruits are middling defenders. Because most high school player are middling defenders. Castle was an awful defender until Hurley and Kimani challenged him in Storrs.

We recruit the physical profile and intangibles.

 

[August_West]

My eye test tells me that Karaban is about the same, but Hass seems a bit worse on the defensive end. Granted, I think the main reason for that is just a change in minutes. When you're playing 15-18 minutes a game you can go all out of defense. When you're playing 35+ minutes a game and facilitating the entire offense, you can't play with the same intensity every possession on defense

100% the reason for Hass. It's ok. He has been excellent for us.

 

[AllHusky]

Stewart nearly shut down Dixon for as long as he could. He was incredible last night on defense.

Solo's offense is as good as his defense is bad. He is one of the most dangerous players in the country on offense and also one of the worst defensive players in the country.

Per EvanMiya, Solo is the 3rd worst defender among ALL POWER CONFERENCE players with a minimum of 500 possessions (starters). The only players who rate worse than him are Jalen Blackmon (Miami) and Dion Brown (Boston College). I never thought I'd see that for a Dan Hurley coached player

So, alot of room for improvement??? Is that a positive?

 

[AllHusky]

Hass point guard duties taking alot of energy. Big responsibility.

 

[Chin Diesel]

So, alot of room for improvement??? Is that a positive?

Much like when your performance review says "has unlimited potential". That isn't a compliment.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

He can heat up like no other. It’s wild. Would love if he didn’t want until we were down 12

 

[uconntoatl]

He needs to get better on defense

 

[HooperScooper]

Many/most of our high school recruits are middling defenders. Because most high school player are middling defenders. Castle was an awful defender until Hurley and Kimani challenged him in Storrs.

We recruit the physical profile and intangibles.

“We recruit really good offensive players now and we force them to play defense,” Hurley said. “We force them to rebound the ball like it’s a life-or-death proposition, because ball possession represents life in my mind.”

“It’s hard to win championships and it’s hard to win a tournament like the NCAA Tournament unless you can score,” he said. “It’s hard to get out of the first round if you’re in a rock fight, because you feel enormous pressure in the first round of NCAA Tournament games when you coach at UConn. The best way to mitigate that is to have a high-power offense that can go on runs… to blow up a game because you’ve got firepower.”

So the question is can any player be taught to play very good defense? Or do some players have physical limitations that prohibit them from being good defenders? Has Hurley overrated his ability to turn offensively talented players into very good defenders?

I was actually going to start a thread on this with those questions but figured I'd wait until the end of the season to see if the defense improved a lot.

 

[Deleted at users request]

“We recruit really good offensive players now and we force them to play defense,” Hurley said. “We force them to rebound the ball like it’s a life-or-death proposition, because ball possession represents life in my mind.”

“It’s hard to win championships and it’s hard to win a tournament like the NCAA Tournament unless you can score,” he said. “It’s hard to get out of the first round if you’re in a rock fight, because you feel enormous pressure in the first round of NCAA Tournament games when you coach at UConn. The best way to mitigate that is to have a high-power offense that can go on runs… to blow up a game because you’ve got firepower.”

So the question is can any player be taught to play very good defense? Or do some players have physical limitations that prohibit them from being good defenders? Has Hurley overrated his ability to turn offensively talented players into very good defenders?

I was actually going to start a thread on this with those questions but figured I'd wait until the end of the season to see if the defense improved a lot.

I think physical limitations can prohibit players from being good defenders. If we’re going to go with this kind of recruiting strategy it would behoove us to continue to prioritize rim protectors to make defense easier for the guards.

Ball does have the attributes to be a good defender though. Not sure why he’s been so bad thus far honestly.

 

[SubbaBub]

I predict the Ball is going to be a terror to defend in two months. Hurley needs to find a way to neutralize the opposing stud players. That's the glaring difference, need a plan for an inside guy and an outside dribble drive guy.

Stewart did a good job early on Dixon then Neptune moved him inside and things changed.

That said, giving up 68 points should = a win. Defense didn't lose this game, the missed opportunities on offense did. That includes turnovers and not getting to the foul line.

 

[aburks41]

100% the reason for Hass. It's ok. He has been excellent for us.

Definitely. His baseline defensive level is good enough. His offense this year has been really impressive

 

[Huskyforlife]

I'll give Diarra a pass because he's still solid and being asked to carry way too much of a burden offensively.

Solo is the worst defender I've ever seen, relative to size and athleticism. It's making me question Dans ability to teach defense. He's like if Hawkins played Mahaney defense.

Ross looked like he had potential, but he bites at everything and you can tell he's desperate to make splash plays on defense. Think there's still a chance he'll figure it out next year, he needed this experience.

Stewart is getting tons of credit for stopping Dixon, but I thought the constant doubles were a larger factor.

Samson still smacking people 40 feet from the hoop has me looking at Dan funny too. How is this still a problem? Dude is a 5th year senior and fouls like a true freshman.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Wonder what happened to his hops, why does he settle for pull ups and floaters instead of attacking violently when he gets a step? Kinda reminds me of what happened with Purvis.

 

[RuffRuff]

The Solo D

 

[Huskyforlife]

Should probably say though Solos improvement on offense is monumental and very important to the team. Didn't think he would ever be this caliber of shooter, especially in year 2.

He could be an AA in year 3 if he improves his other skills on offense, and becomes passable on defense. He'll probably average around 14-15 points by the end of this year. 18ish next year is realistic.