Starting Five for 20-21

[ktuck911]

I did it for the Women, now let's get to the Men...

I gotta admit, this feels like a possible "Shock the World" feeling I get for us... We got some serious depth... Just need to put it all together... We could very well be seeing a year where BOTH teams do it again...

With that said, here goes my prediction for our starting 5 to get things started for us (this one's hard, but here it goes):

PG - Gaffney
CG - R. Cole
SG/SF - Bouknight
PF - Polley
C - Carlton

We start out with a 3 guard set.. AND we take the vet route to start things off ... Gaffney and Bouknight played so well together at the end of last season, why not keep them both in the line up together? And with all we've heard about Cole, having 2 solid ball handlers in the backcourt at the same time is nothing new for UConn Basketball. It's a staple for us. It's who we are. Polley and Carlton are guys that are on a mission. I think they will start out strong and earn this start to the season in practice... BUT I'm pretty sure the line up will morph a little as time goes on... We got some kids that WILL push for time; so, even though there may be a specific starting 5, I see the games will end with a completely different look on the court at the end of games....

Excited about this bunch.


There you go... Have it.. (U-C-O-N-N! UCONN! UCONN! UCONN!)

 

[Chin Diesel]

I don't see any way Whaley isn't starting.

Either Polley and Whaley

or

Whaley and Carlton

 

[HooperScooper]

Didn't we just do this very recently in another thread? Or am I imagining that?

 

[UCLJ0211]

I don't see any way Whaley isn't starting.

Either Polley and Whaley

or

Whaley and Carlton

Yeah I think it will be matchup dependent. If we need more size we go with Carlton. Either line up gives us good ball handling and shooting though.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Cole
Bouk
Martin
Polley
Whaley

 

[husky429]

Start of season:

Cole
Bouk
Martin
Polley
Whaley

End of season assuming good health:

Cole
Bouk
Jackson
Akok
Whaley

Adams, Martin, Polley, Carlton, Sanogo all get at least 10-15 minutes off the bench

 

[MuchoDogYears]

Gaffney
Bouknight
Martin
Whaley
Carlton

The only two players with big minutes are Bouk and Whaley. The rest...shuffle the deck, keep fresh legs on the court. Endless options depending on the opponent and who’s hot.

 

[UCLJ0211]

Start of season:

Cole
Bouk
Martin
Polley
Whaley

End of season assuming good health:

Cole
Bouk
Jackson
Akok
Whaley

Adams, Martin, Polley, Carlton, Sanogo all get at least 10-15 minutes off the bench

Gaffney?

 

[husky429]

Gaffney?

Could go small with Cole Gaffney Bouk all starting. That'd be my second guess at the starters

 

[Mr. French]

Could go small with Cole Gaffney Bouk all starting. That'd be my second guess at the starters

I think I’m with you both posts.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Could go small with Cole Gaffney Bouk all starting. That'd be my second guess at the starters

Wouldn't surprise me if we saw this. I do feel confident Gaff, Cole and Bouk all start first game



Gaff
Cole
Bouk
Martin
Whaley.

 

[dannyHAM]

Heard polley has been balling out at practice (and the weight room). This is my best guess at the lineup (to start the season) RJ, Bouk, Polley, Whaley, Carlton. Jackson will eventually make his way into it.

 

[navery12]

All I can tell you is that it won't be Whaley and Carlton both starting

 

[gampelcrazies]

I can't see Carlton starting

 

[ktuck911]

I can't see Carlton starting

At the beginning of the season it's possible. I don't see him staying there as the season goes along. I think one if the frodh bigs may imerge. I just font see us going with a 3 guard set with both Polley and Whaley up front. Not enough size on the floor to start a game

 

[Kitaman]

Martin eligibility is great for Polley. It cleaned his rear view mirror.

Love a team who's players are challenged from the bench. Hurley has shortened all of his leashes.

 

[Mooch82]

Deepest team I can remember in a long time, and it just gets silly deep if Akok comes back. Will be a tough challenge for DH to find the right rotations/lineups. I assume not everyone will always be happy in their role, but hopefully that just makes guys work harder and promotes internal competition, rather than sulking.

 

[ktuck911]

Deepest team I can remember in a long time, and it just gets silly deep if Akok comes back. Will be a tough challenge for DH to find the right rotations/lineups. I assume not everyone will always be happy in their role, but hopefully that just makes guys work harder and promotes internal competition, rather than sulking.

#Facts.... Great post... AND this is what we need to see for this team to develop into the National Championship contender we all know it can potentially be.

 

[bmayuc]

I continue to be shocked at all the gaffney over cole madness. I do not care what conference he played in, he was the POY of a D1 conference as a sophomore - that was 18 months ago and he'll much improved from that level. Gaffney averaged like 3 points per game. Cmon.

Gaffney is fine. Good program player, love the kid. Not on the same planet as Cole(yet). He is a really good Craig Austrie type, and has some upside. But there is just no way he's starting over cole, and no way that we are starting 3 guards with our roster distribution.

Starters:

RJ Cole - 15 pts, 6 assists
Bouk - 18 pts, 5 rebs, 3 assists
Jackson - 10 pts, 3 rebs, 2 assists, 3 WTFs
PorkChop - 10 pts, 7 rebs, 2 blocks
Carlton - 5 pts, 5 rebs, 1 deep breath and he's pulled for our bounty of bigs

Bench
Gaffney - utility guard replaces whoever needs a blow first(bouk/cole)
Brendan Adams - matchup specialist & toughness infuser
Tyrese Martin - First Swing/4 off the bench - Will basically split time with Jackson 50/50- Toughness and D
Polley - Specialist shooter - will get 15 minutes per game just to spot up.
Springs/Sanogo/Brown - Whoever is hot will be first in to replace Carlton/Porkchop. Maybe run in tandems?
Akok - TBD

Man we have a lot of players this year. Should really grind teams down physically. Hope we play up tempo to use all those bodies. Will allow Hurley to absolutely push these guys to the max on defense.

 

[Chin Diesel]

L

I continue to be shocked at all the gaffney over cole madness. I do not care what conference he played in, he was the POY of a D1 conference as a sophomore - that was 18 months ago and he'll much improved from that level. Gaffney averaged like 3 points per game. Cmon.

Gaffney is fine. Good program player, love the kid. Not on the same planet as Cole(yet). He is a really good Craig Austrie type, and has some upside. But there is just no way he's starting over cole, and no way that we are starting 3 guards with our roster distribution.

Starters:

RJ Cole - 15 pts, 6 assists
Bouk - 18 pts, 5 rebs, 3 assists
Jackson - 10 pts, 3 rebs, 2 assists, 3 WTFs
PorkChop - 10 pts, 7 rebs, 2 blocks
Carlton - 5 pts, 5 rebs, 1 deep breath and he's pulled for our bounty of bigs

Bench
Gaffney - utility guard replaces whoever needs a blow first(bouk/cole)
Brendan Adams - matchup specialist & toughness infuser
Tyrese Martin - First Swing/4 off the bench - Will basically split time with Jackson 50/50- Toughness and D
Polley - Specialist shooter - will get 15 minutes per game just to spot up.
Springs/Sanogo/Brown - Whoever is hot will be first in to replace Carlton/Porkchop. Maybe run in tandems?
Akok - TBD

Man we have a lot of players this year. Should really grind teams down physically. Hope we play up tempo to use all those bodies. Will allow Hurley to absolutely push these guys to the max on defense.

I have very low confidence in Jackson starting. Especially at the beginning of the season.

 

[ktuck911]

I have very low confidence in Jackson starting. Especially at the beginning of the season.

If he provides that "swiss army knife" type play for us, he'll eventually be starting.. nice piece to have in a starting line up (loose balls, steals, blocks, give you that energy on both ends of the floor)...

 

[bmayuc]

L


I have very low confidence in Jackson starting. Especially at the beginning of the season.

I tend to believe he'll start just as a matter of physical domination. Having athletes that superior - even if they are figuring it out - can legit have a psychological effect for both teams. The guy is a 99.9% athlete and needs to be in the lineup to take his lumps.

 

[UCPharma11]

The fact that many different people on the Boneyard see so many different lineups is a sign of good things to come. Great depth, great coaching and hoping the freshman can get coached up quick to be able to come in and play crucial moments in crunch time. Looking forward to getting back to the the big DANCE!!

 

[bendm]

But there is just no way he's starting over cole, and no way that we are starting 3 guards with our roster distribution.

agreed- we lack PG depth and gaffney starting creates an even bigger log jam at wing/forward. Adams is also not going to be the 3rd string SG/SF when Hurley says he's competing for a starting spot. this team's best qualities are its size and athleticism (where Gaffney is below average relative to the roster).

Cole- Gaffney
Bouk-Adams
Polley-Jackson
Martin-Springs-Akok*
Whaley-Carlton-Sanogo

RS-Brown

-Martin is a much better rebounder than Polley, who Hurley described as a guard, so Martin is the small ball stretch 4.
-Akok starts at PF if/when he's back to 100%

 

[Huskyforlife]

agreed- we lack PG depth and gaffney starting creates an even bigger log jam at wing/forward. Adams is also not going to be the 3rd string SG/SF when Hurley says he's competing for a starting spot. this team's best qualities are it's size and athleticism (where Gaffney is below average relative to the roster).

Cole- Gaffney
Bouk-Adams
Polley-Jackson
Martin-Springs-Akok*
Whaley-Carlton-Sanogo

RS-Brown

-Martin is a much better rebounder than Polley, who Hurley described as a guard, so Martin is the small ball stretch 4.
-Akok starts at PF if/when he's back to 100%

I don't see Sanogo being third string. He didn't reclass and pick us over other schools that needed centers to do that.