Starting Lineup To Open The Season

[Huskybass]

AG and JC are locks. My guess is CV, Bouk, and Akok will get the other 3 starting spots. Thoughts?

 

[mauconnfan]

Alterique
Christian
Josh
Akok
Tyler

 

[3rdbass]

AG and JC are locks. My guess is CV, Bouk, and Akok will get the other 3 starting spots. Thoughts?

That is my starting lineup too as Tyler is too slow to play the 3.

 

[jibsey]

Vital, Carlton and Gilbert are the locks. Polley likely. If Bouknight is that skilled he starts. Akok comes in for a Polley. The rest is a rotation that will depend on who brings it. Hurley will give everyone a chance against the cupcakes but performance against good teams will determine who gets the minutes and starts. Who’s making shots and the least mistakes? Who will play defense?

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Hurley will give everyone a chance against the cupcakes

I agree, but only one scrimmage against a good Harvard team, one exhibition and two cupcakes to start the season before Florida at Gampel and the Charleston Classic.

 

[evmore]

As good a guess as any.... CV in my mind is the iffy choice, his defense helps his case as does his shooting, but he's limited in halfcourt offense and he's erratic, plus he's just over 6', so i could see it if Tyler Phommachanh or even SW starts and CV becomes the 6th man.. Personally, i'm excited to see Richie Springs play tho i have no clue how he is defensively & Hurley will only play him if he isn't a defensive liability.

 

[rip7774]

Didn’t Rothstein go nuts over Tyler Polley’s offseason strides? I have to figure he might start based on how he improved and eventually becomes a Rashad-lite assassin off the bench.

Also, heard glowing reviews on Justin Brown’s progress from JC...

 

[upstater]

It all depends on what Hurley envisions his February team will look like. If he thinks Bouknight is going to be a force this year, you start him right away and give him the PT to develop.

 

[awfuldan]

To start the season I think Alterique, Christian, Tyler, and Josh are all locks. Danny Hurley said in an interview he wants Polley to average double figures next year. He is going to play a lot of minutes. Since he started almost all of last year, it stands to reason he will start again this year, at least until some of the freshman come along.

I'm gonna guess that Sid takes the other starting spot. There's been some positive buzz around him lately and it'd be nice to have an athlete of his caliber in there.

 

[Son of Robert]

To start the season I think Alterique, Christian, Tyler, and Josh are all locks. Danny Hurley said in an interview he wants Polley to average double figures next year. He is going to play a lot of minutes. Since he started almost all of last year, it stands to reason he will start again this year, at least until some of the freshman come along.

I'm gonna guess that Sid takes the other starting spot. There's been some positive buzz around him lately and it'd be nice to have an athlete of his caliber in there.

I agree with you. Hurley will lean towards his veteran players. AG, Vital, Tyler Polley, and Josh. I see Sid at the 3, but Bouknight is pushing for it. I think one of the reasons Akok comes off the bench is to be a bridge with the Carlton and Whaley substitution pattern. Also, Hurley has a lot of trust in Tyler's play, and from the sounds of things he is poised to make a jump in all facets of his game.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I expect Hurley to play several different starting lineups over the course of the year. Who starts in the opener? I'll go with: Gilbert, Vital, Wilson, Akok, Carlton.

The only two locks to start all year are Gilbert and Carlton. Everything else will rotate. I can see Polley starting some games at the 3 and some at the 4. Bouk starting some at the 3 and some at the 2. Sid some at the 3. Vital some at the 2. We will have big lineups (Carlton, Akok and Polley) and some shooter heavy lineups (Polley, Bouk, CV).

I expect Adams to play more than most people think.

 

[jibsey]

I expect Hurley to play several different starting lineups over the course of the year. Who starts in the opener? I'll go with: Gilbert, Vital, Wilson, Akok, Carlton.

The only two locks to start all year are Gilbert and Carlton. Everything else will rotate. I can see Polley starting some games at the 3 and some at the 4. Bouk starting some at the 3 and some at the 2. Sid some at the 3. Vital some at the 2. We will have big lineups (Carlton, Akok and Polley) and some shooter heavy lineups (Polley, Bouk, CV).

I expect Adams to play more than most people think.

No way CV as a senior doesn’t start.

 

[HuskyHawk]

No way CV as a senior doesn’t start.

Every game? Ha. Never going to happen. He was put on the bench late last year for a reason. I have him starting the opener. But there will be games he doesn't start.

 

[DrZzzz]

As good a guess as any.... CV in my mind is the iffy choice, his defense helps his case as does his shooting, but he's limited in halfcourt offense and he's erratic, plus he's just over 6', so i could see it if Tyler Phommachanh or even SW starts and CV becomes the 6th man.. Personally, i'm excited to see Richie Springs play tho i have no clue how he is defensively & Hurley will only play him if he isn't a defensive liability.

Dunno. I doubt SW would start. Unless something dramatically changed over the summer, I don't see him getting many minutes. CV improved more than anyone not named Carlton last year. I expect he put in as much if not more work in this summer. Tyler Phommachanh is the worst rebounder in UConn history, so I could see Bouknight starting over him later. But at the beginning of the season I see Tyler Phommachanh starting.

 

[JimHurley]

Gilbert, Vital, Bouknight, Akok, Carlton. Gaffney will be the main guard off the bench. I expect Bouk/Sid to split minutes at the 3 and Akok/Polley to split minutes at the 4. Whaley will fill in when Carlton is in foul trouble.

 

[Marat]

Gilbert, Vital, Bouknight, Akok, Carlton. Gaffney will be the main guard off the bench. I expect Bouk/Sid to split minutes at the 3 and Akok/Polley to split minutes at the 4. Whaley will fill in when Carlton is in foul trouble.

I can also see Akok sliding over to the 5 at times., even though Whaley and Springs may be available.

 

[CTBasketball]

If Akok can really step out and hit 3s at a good clip, I could see going with the more defensive/better rebounding option at the 3. Be it Sid or Polley, whoever has progressed on that end more.

I have a feeling Sid will make his way into the starting rotation.

 

[CL82]

I have a feeling Sid will make his way into the starting rotation.

Based on what? He looked absolutely lost last year. I will say he looked pretty fit in I recent picture I saw of him. That runs counter to the whole "he's not buying in" narrative that was floating around the board over the summer.

 

[len0322]

I would expect AG and JC to be mainstays. I would not be surprised to see a rotating door through december based on chemistry and opponent for the other 3 slots.

 

[Psolo12]

Akok will be starting at the 4, he's exactly what Hurley loves and what we've needed for a while. He's a top 50 guy that didn't come here to sit while Polley gets manhandled at the 4.

 

[UconnU]

AG, CV, JB, AA, JC.

 

[Son of Robert]

It is my understanding that Hurley doesn't mess with his starting lineup too much. Except for injury replacements last year I think CV was the only lineup change for a couple of games there.

 

[HuskyHawk]

It is my understanding that Hurley doesn't mess with his starting lineup too much. Except for injury replacements last year I think CV was the only lineup change for a couple of games there.

That's because he hasn't had any options. I think that's about to change. He can now play matchups and determine which guys compliment other guys. I've mentioned it before, but Vital with Gaffney and Bouk with AG makes sense to me. Clearly CV will get more minutes than Gaffney, but it's still rational.

When Akok is in, I don't think Polley at the 3 is ideal unless we are matching up with a very big team like USF. Sid provides more athleticism and shot blocking. Against smaller teams I can see Polley at the 4, Bouk at the 3. I expect Adams will play and become something of a defensive shut down guy at the 2 or 3.

Hurley is talking about having a team that can go 10 deep for the first time in his coaching career. He's going to look to create mismatches and ensure others aren't creating mismatches against us.

 

[ThabeetDown]

AG
Bouk/CV
Polley
Akok
Carlton

This is your starters. Personally, I would like CV to be 6th man but more like how Lou Williams has done it in his career -- still play starters minutes. I'd like him to bring his energy and shooting off the bench at the under 16. I'm very excited to see what the second unit could be:

Gaffney
CV/Bouk
Sid
Whaley
Richie

But also, I could see a small ball/three guard unit like this:
AG
CV
Bouk
2 of Akok/Polley/Carlton

We probably finish games with the above -- Akok on defense, Polley on offense at the 4.

 

[Palatine]

The starting lineup stays intact for about seven minutes at the longest.

Who plays the last five minutes is what I want to see.