Starting Lineup Change?

[huskyrob1]

Carlton is a sophomore. He plays 16 minutes a game. If he is your major problem, you don't have many problems.

Polley is a sophomore. He gets major minutes, 25 a game. He shoots 44% from the field and 36% from the arc. He averages 8 per game with a couple of rebounds. He could be better and he probably will get better over the year. So will Carlton.

Neither is why we lose. We lose because the team is lackadaisical and soft. This is a team without a leader and without a go to clutch player. Our upper classmen have as many bad habits as our sophomores. When the game is free flowing and loose they are fine. Slow the tempo, make the game deliberate and they are uncomfortable and unable to perform.

Carlton and Polley's time will come. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a way to speed up their progression or consistency. But neither is the problem.

Carlton is a project, looks lost out on the court, can't finish, jumps off his feet to block a shot from a guard a foot shorter than him who is close in to the basket, and fouls him with body. Lol. I wouldn't play him 16 min a game, as a matter of fact I wouldn't play him at all unless we lead by 30. It's crazy, especially when you have Cobb on the bench.

 

[Huskygrad88]

I advocate for playing Syd as much as possible. He has plus athleticism with clear upside. He just needs the reps to build confidence. I want to like Polley, but he just doesn't do enough. I think throw Syd in the starting lineup and give him a shot. What do we really lose by doing that, and I think he clearly will contribute more to the future of this team than Polley.

Not sure I understand the assumption people make about Wilson. Is he a better leaper than Polley...absolutely. Does he do anything else better...not right now and a matter of fact he does many things much worse. Can’t see how he will “clearly contribute more to the future”. That assumes he’ll get much better and Polley will stand still in development. Just a reminder that Wilson is shooting 29% from field, 44% from the line, and a whopping 11% from 3. All dwarfed by Polleys stats, with no appreciable difference in defensive showing.

 

[Palatine]

Carlton is a project, looks lost out on the court, can't finish, jumps off his feet to block a shot from a guard a foot shorter than him who is close in to the basket, and fouls him with body. Lol. I wouldn't play him 16 min a game, as a matter of fact I wouldn't play him at all unless we lead by 30. It's crazy, especially when you have Cobb on the bench.

Carlton is the only rim protector on the team. He has 23 blocks, by far the most on the team. The team tends to perform better defensively when he or Yakwe are in the game. Cobb is a defensive disaster. Carlton's true value can only be assessed after he comes closer or his ceiling.

 

[huskyrob1]

Carlton is the only rim protector on the team. He has 23 blocks, by far the most on the team. The team tends to perform better defensively when he or Yakwe are in the game. Cobb is a defensive disaster. Carlton's true value can only be assessed after he comes closer or his ceiling.

Rim protector??? Lol. He came close to the ceiling and still fouled Collins next to the basket. Cobb had 7 rebounds in 15 min, how many rebounds did Carlton and Polley have in the 44 min they played? Cobb didn't play the last 15 minutes of the game, if he had maybe things might have turned out different. Hurley is a great coach, and I'm nothing, so just saying.

 

[uconngb]

Not sure I understand the assumption people make about Wilson. Is he a better leaper than Polley...absolutely. Does he do anything else better...not right now and a matter of fact he does many things much worse. Can’t see how he will “clearly contribute more to the future”. That assumes he’ll get much better and Polley will stand still in development. Just a reminder that Wilson is shooting 29% from field, 44% from the line, and a whopping 11% from 3. All dwarfed by Polleys stats, with no appreciable difference in defensive showing.

Wilson plays 1/2 as many minutes as Polley and gets more rebounds per game. He should not be shooting the 3, I agree. Nor should Polley only be getting 2 rebounds a game. We are getting crushed on the boards. Need all the rebounding help we can get. And Polley is a statue on defense....at least Wilson can move and has a couple decent blocks per game. Syd definitively has more upside than Polley and if you don't see it, you must be related to Tyler.

 

[UofCT]

If Carlton and Polley are major pieces in our future we are royally screwed.

They aren't major pieces of the present or future. Polley is a streaker shooter who can't really shoot.

 

[I Bleed Blue]

At least Cobb has shown something on offense against high level D1 opponents. Like OP said with Yakwe at the 4 to help on D, I’ll take Cobb. Carlton has been a waste of floor space. Can’t wait for Kofi.

 

[Hi-Low]

They aren't major pieces of the present or future. Polley is a streaker shooter who can't really shoot.

Hard to say Carlton & Polley aren't major pieces of the present when they start and play most of the minutes at the 4 & 5 spots. Would they be major pieces on a good team, no but we are a bad team. Hopefully we aren't a bad team in 1 or 2 years and they will be just 10 mins per game role guys that show occasional flash.

 

[BlueDogs]

Carlton is a sophomore. He plays 16 minutes a game. If he is your major problem, you don't have many problems.

Polley is a sophomore. He gets major minutes, 25 a game. He shoots 44% from the field and 36% from the arc. He averages 8 per game with a couple of rebounds. He could be better and he probably will get better over the year. So will Carlton.

Neither is why we lose. We lose because the team is lackadaisical and soft. This is a team without a leader and without a go to clutch player. Our upper classmen have as many bad habits as our sophomores. When the game is free flowing and loose they are fine. Slow the tempo, make the game deliberate and they are uncomfortable and unable to perform.

Carlton and Polley's time will come. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a way to speed up their progression or consistency. But neither is the problem.

Counterintuitive, but the sooner Adams is removed from the equation the better. He's a virus with a losing mentality that impacts the entire team. How many times does this kid fail to step up and actually folds when the pressure is on. Huge turnovers and bad shots at critical times, and the other players deflate. JA getting his points is meaningless if the cost is the rest of the team follows down the losing path. Time to take him off the floor and have others step up and shoulder the leadership and performance accountability. Thanks for the effort JA, but the heroic leader role losing under a chaotic and lost KO team is no longer relevant.

 

[businesslawyer]

Can we lock Polley in the gym with Roscoe Smith to teach him how a skinny guy rebounds? I get that he's frail and slow, but what is his major lacking that prevents him from getting any rebounds? Is it positioning? Is he out on the perimeter too much? Lack of desire?

He can't even grab defensive foul shot rebounds. That's incredulous. Those are almost free.

He can become a nice player in the future, but at the 4 he needs to contribute to grab at least a few rebounds, especially with this front court.

Roscoe was much stronger and much more athletic than Polley. There is no comparison between their talent levels.

 

[AntG168]

If Carlton and Polley are major pieces in our future we are royally screwed.

I think Polley can be a vital piece moving foward. He needs to do a better job and defending his position and being a big shot maker. But I believe the tools are there for Polley to be a REALLY good role player. Carlton has been depressing this yr. I haven’t seen much to work with

 

[AntG168]

At least Cobb isn’t scared of big moments. Carlton seems terrified and is tissue soft around the basket

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

AG
CV
Sid
Cobb
Yakwe

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I'd roll with Sid over these guys. Guy plays with a pulse out there and I think his shot/offensive game will improve as it is a bit rusty from the NCAA making him sit out last season. I like his upside and athleticism over what Carlton and Polley are bringing to the table against non-cupcake competition.

 

[SouleMan]

Herein lies the problem. There just aren't any good answers on the bench to the frontcourt issues. The team needs an influx of talent and that doesn't happen over night. It's realistically going to take 2-3 years of good recruiting.

After last night's disaster Hurley said the culture needs to change and the team doesn't have a lot of fight (see quotes below). I don't know if that's a major problem (hard for an outsider to see all that) but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and agree it's an issue. And if it is then that takes a lot of time to change as the roster cycles through (current players leave and new ones come in). I think it was probably naive to think this thing could get completely turned around in one year.

“We just exhibit all the symptoms of a team that’s not a good team,” Hurley said. “A disheartening performance, disappointing. We’ve got a long way to go.”

“You would think that we would have tried harder,” Hurley said, “it would have meant more to us to get those 50-50 balls, based on this team’s desire to be better than it’s been the last couple of years. ... That’s the sign of a team that’s not focused, not locked in, maybe a little too cool.”

“When the snowball starts rolling down the hill for us, we cave in,” Hurley said, “we give in. It’s more of a matter of having the toughness and the will to play a full 40 minutes. We’ve got a long way to go as a program to develop the habits that winning programs have.”

As a program, huh? not as a team?

That just about says all you need to know about Hurley's thoughts on this year.

 

[SouleMan]

I'd roll with Sid over these guys. Guy plays with a pulse out there and I think his shot/offensive game will improve as it is a bit rusty from the NCAA making him sit out last season. I like his upside and athleticism over what Carlton and Polley are bringing to the table against non-cupcake competition.

His jumper seems pretty flat (he threw up some real bricks yesterday). Shot looked to have more arc in his high school highlights.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

His jumper seems pretty flat (he threw up some real bricks yesterday). Shot looked to have more arc in his high school highlights.

Completely agree. Looks like a rushed line drive.

 

[Tenspro2002]

As a program, huh? not as a team?

That just about says all you need to know about Hurley's thoughts on this year.

Hurley is daydreaming about next October, as we all are. Can't blame him, frankly.

 

[AdamaNation]

I think it's time to start Cobb and Yakwe and send Polley and Carlton to the bench. Yakwe can pick up the slack from Cobb's lack of defense and vice versa on the offensive -- you don't really need Yakwe on offense with JA/CV/AG. Plus, I don't hate the idea of going with more veteran guys. Obviously, it depends on Yakwe's health, but I'm even fine with the Chuck Okwandu strategy and take him out at the U-16 timeout.

I know Cobb can't play a lick of D, but he is the best big man rebounder and offensive post player currently, so you have to work with what you have. He is also the type of guy that can help set the tone early in a game and get a few easy buckets down low to open things up for the guards -- essentially what they do with Carlton against the cupcakes -- and what Carlton can't do against the real teams since he's essentially soft.

Polley, who has been a pleasant surprise overall this year, can't really do much on defense and if he isn't hitting his shots (like last night) he's essentially useless. I do think by the time he is a senior he will be a key contributor, but for now, I think he'd be better off the bench playing with Tarin and Carlton.

I would gladly swap Diarra in for Yakwe if he comes back, but who knows what shape he'll even be in if he plays this year.

Did you read my post from last night?!? Plagiarism!!! But I agree. Yak and Cobb equal a very good big. We have been playing 5 on 4 for years. Brimah couldn’t stand or catch or get offensive boards but cleaned the lane a bit. Carlton is a feather in cement shoes (unless we play west/best conn), Enoch blew. This would be the new UConn format.

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

Couple more games like yesterday and it will be time to just play freshmen and underclassmen and get them as much experience as possible for the future.

Typically I would agree with that sentiment, but not in this case.
This year is about getting respectability back and being competitive in every game we play. I like Josh Carlton, but he is not our future. We have to do everything we can to win every game this year to get respect back for the UConn brand. We need to show recruits how good of a coach Hurley is rather than trying to squeeze as much potential out of the Josh Carltons and Isaiah Whaleys, even if that means playing Cobb, Jalen and Tarin as much as possible.

 

[UconnU]

Carlton is a sophomore the only other centers we have are seniors, one of whom is injured and another who has off the court issues, we need to play him through his struggles. None of the guards make sense replacing. The only conceivable change we can make is to start Wilson over Polley. No good options for Hurley here.

 

[crazyUCfan23]

Like Polley is doing any better?

fair point. touche

 

[MuchoDogYears]

Yeah Polley had a horrendous shooting night but people really need to simmer down.
Polley and CV are the two most improved players on the team from this time last year. As for his defensive ability, I have no idea what everyone else is seeing but I see him moving his feet actually really well and he gives effort on that end. He has shown an ability to make blocks. And he's expanded his offensive game where he’s no longer just a standstill 3 point shooter.

Polley is not the issue on this team.

 

[AdamaNation]

Yeah Polley had a horrendous shooting night but people really need to simmer down.
Polley and CV are the two most improved players on the team from this time last year. As for his defensive ability, I have no idea what everyone else is seeing but I see him moving his feet actually really well and he gives effort on that end. He has shown an ability to make blocks. And he's expanded his offensive game where he’s no longer just a standstill 3 point shooter.

Polley is not the issue on this team.

The fact he is an option IS

 

[Jay-Bone]

Yeah Polley had a horrendous shooting night but people really need to simmer down.
Polley and CV are the two most improved players on the team from this time last year. As for his defensive ability, I have no idea what everyone else is seeing but I see him moving his feet actually really well and he gives effort on that end. He has shown an ability to make blocks. And he's expanded his offensive game where he’s no longer just a standstill 3 point shooter.

Polley is not the issue on this team.

Seriously? You don't like rebounds either? Maybe if we never missed, you'd be dead on. You wearing the same Hurley goggles?

There was absolutely no reason to leave Polley on the floor the last ten minutes of the game. None. If he's making shots fine, but he missed 5 3's already by then. Bizarro hot hand.

Its really this simple, if you're playing the 4 and you are atrocious at rebounding, you better make shots. If you're not making shots and not rebounding at all with meager at best defense you should be sitting going down the final stretch of a game. Even Ollie could figure that much out.

The same people that argue Cobb shouldn't play for his offense because his defense is so bad, argue Polley should play for his offense when his rebounding is the worst of any 4 in the history of UConn. And they argue it on a night that he goes 0-7 from 3. Its very fascinating. Paul Newman would check you into the boards for this take.